EDGARD — As their time in high school nears its end, two West St. John High School seniors are sad to be leaving friends but excited for what the future may hold.

Maya Trench and Alasia Narcisse plan to attend New Orleans area colleges.

“Maya Trench is very smart,” Brian Carter said. “She is also a very hard working young lady. She strives do to do her best in everything that she does.”

Carter, the assistant principal at West St. John, has known Trench since she started at the school.

“Outside of school, she is a very fun-loving girl,” he said. “She is a good role model, a very powerful role model for the students at St. John.”

Carter is also familiar with one of Trench’s friends, Narcisse and had only positive things to say about her.

“Ms. Narcisse is also a very smart young lady,” Carter said. “She is well driven to excel in class and she works very hard at everything she does. She is also a fun-loving and silly girl. Everyone enjoys her charisma and how she likes to brighten up other people’s days.”

With a sort of sad yet proud smile on his face, Carter admits he is going to miss both girls after they graduate.

“They have been great role models here for the past four years,” he said. “We are truly going to miss them at West St. John High School.”

Trench and Narcisse are in dual enrollment AP classes, meaning they earn college credit while in high school.

Narcisse said she is driven to make something of herself.

“I want to succeed,” she said. “I don’t want to have to worry about anything. If I get (school) done now, I don’t have to worry about it later.”

When its comes to which college and career path to chose, Narcisse has her choices narrowed down to Dillard University and Xavier University.

“If I go to Xavier, I’m going to study pharmacy,” Narcisse said. “Xavier is known for their pharmacy program. If I don’t get in there, I’m going to Dillard. At Dillard, I’m going into nursing. They don’t have that great of a pharmacy program there, but they have a really great nursing one.”

Trench plans to attend Xavier after she graduates.

The senior believes taking dual enrollment classes will help her in the future.

“They put me in the right place for college,” Trench said. “They push me to do better. Sometimes, they are hard, but I know I have to keep pushing through. Sometimes juggling sports and school is hard too, but you have to learn to balance all that.”

At West St. John, Trench is a member of the basketball and track teams.

Trench plans to take her 4.0 and graduate from Xavier in chemistry so she can become a chemical engineer.

“I like chemistry,” she said. “I like mixing things up. It’s very interesting to work with chemicals. School is the key to success. Without school I can’t become successful. That’s what drives me.”

Trench admitted she is a little nervous about graduating.

“Honestly, I’m not ready,” she said. “I’m not ready to step out, but I know I have to.”

Narcisse, on the other hand, is ready.

“I’m happy to be a senior,” she said. “I’m ready to graduate and start doing new things and meet new people. Being at West St. John has taught me a lot. It’s taught me to be myself. You don’t have to pretend you are something that you’re not, and I learned a lot academically, as well.”

— By Raquel Derganz Baker