Senior Cayden Buhala has reached the end of his senior year and can’t be more excited but also slightly nervous to start a new and better chapter of his life. Buhala has been a part of the Lakeview community since Kindergarten and has made so many fun and exciting memories.

Buhala said, “My favorite memory will always be when the boys soccer team went to the district finals in 2019. I’ve never been a part of something like that and it was fun to experience with all of my teammates and friends.”

Soccer has always been a part of Buhala’s life and he has been a 4 year letter winner for it as well.

Buhala has kept himself very busy throughout his time at Lakeview. He has maintained 3.8 GPA, participating in varsity soccer, ski club, and Youth led prevention, and a part time job. He also has been taking college courses since Junior year.

Though Buhala isn’t planning on going to college after high school, he hopefully wants to be finishing his apprenticeship to be an electrician in about five years. And in ten, he hopefully wants to be owning his own business and making good money.

High school hasn’t always been easy for Buhala though. He wishes he could re-do freshman year because he “didn’t care about school and had no motivation to do anything.” 

Going from online school to in person affected Buhala majorly. He started to give up on doing his work and forced himself to do work and had no motivation.

On a better note, Buhala experienced many fun and exciting memories that he’ll never forget like Junior year prom. He shares that, “It was my first high school prom with all of my friends.” 

Buhala is leaving behind many of his favorite people, especially Coach Augustine, who has been the greatest influence on him since Freshman year.

“Augustine always pushed me to the best version of myself. I was always so hard on myself during soccer and he never gave up on me. Not only did he make me a better soccer player, but he made me a better, stronger person in all.” 

One thing that Buhala has learned throughout his 4 years of high school is to not take life for granted and not to take everything so seriously. After high school, Buhala leaves behind many people that he’ll miss. But he’ll especially miss his teammates.

“Even though we had a rough season my junior and senior year, my teammates and I still always had fun and enjoyed every moment of it because before you know it, it’ll be over.” 

Buhala shares that his senior year has gone how he hoped. “This year has been the most enjoyable and stress-free. I liked all my teachers but I’m excited to graduate.” 

Looking back to his freshman year, Buhala regrets not taking time to actually study for exams and quizzes which hurt him in the future and it was hard to get out of the hole he dug himself into.

“I slacked off  a lot and didn’t realize how important school was. If I could help younger students, I’d tell them that school isn’t so bad. You just have to study and get past any challenges. But also cherish moments with your friends.” 

As Buhala takes his final steps towards graduation, he can’t be more excited to start moving onto bigger things.

“Though I’ll miss all the fun experiences I was apart at Lakeview, I think I’m prepared to start living by myself and seeing what it’s like to be an adult.”

All of Buhala’s hard work will pay off as he moves on to the next years of his life! We wish senior Cayden Buhala the best of luck after graduation!