We’re Not Leaving Without a Plan 

How One Teacher Helps Students Move Forward With Intention, Not Guesswork 

We ask high school seniors to make big decisions about their future. Many commit to a college path, but not all of them finish. And their student loan debt? It still has to be paid back, whether they get a degree or not. 

Even graduates struggle to find work in their field. Some end up in jobs that never required a degree in the first place. 

Tyler Hockett has watched too many of his students step into these decisions unprepared and pay for it later.  

“They don’t have a plan. They don’t know what to do,” he says. 

He doesn’t want them walking into adulthood blind. 

 

Thinking Critically About the Future 

Tyler sees students trying to figure out their next steps all at once. College. Work. Money. And a lot of them feel overwhelmed. 

“We like to think that kids are talking with their parents about these things,” he explains, “but it doesn’t happen as much as I wish it would.” 

So, in his classroom, Tyler pushes students to slow down and make a plan before they commit to anything expensive. That means talking honestly about how they’re going to pay for school—and whether the path they’re choosing actually fits the life they want. Trade school might be a better fit. A certification might get them there faster. Sometimes the four-year route makes sense . . . and sometimes it doesn’t.  That’s the kind of thinking students need before they take on debt. Before they commit to a career they haven’t thought through.  

“We are not walking out of here without a plan,” Tyler tells his students. 

 

Paying It Forward 

After graduating high school, one of Tyler’s former students went to a four-year college because it felt like the expected next step. But a few years in, he was struggling, directionless and unsure what to do next. 

That’s when Tyler shared the Borrowed Future documentary with him. It takes a hard look at how student loan debt can limit choices long after students leave campus.  

“Right after that, something just clicked,” said Tyler. “He realized he was always a hands-on kid. Why was he sitting in a four-year school for classes he didn’t even want to be in?” 

The student realized his talents and passion didn’t match the path he was on, so he pivoted and became a power lineman instead. 

“Now he’s 31. He lives four houses from me. He wrote a check for his first home.” 

But the most meaningful part of the story isn’t the house or the paycheck. It’s what happened next. 

Instead of keeping those lessons to himself, the former student started helping younger coworkers think differently about money, debt and planning for the future. 

“Once you’ve been able to overcome something, the greatest thing in the world is to now give it away,” Tyler says. 

 

Learning the Easy Way 

Everyone learns life lessons around money eventually. The difference is when they learn them. Some people learn the hard way, after years of being stuck in student loan debt. Others learn after settling for a job or degree that doesn’t fit the life they actually want. 

High school students still have time to learn how to build a plan before life starts making those decisions for them.  

“If we aim at nothing, we’re going to hit it every time,” he tells them, quoting Zig Ziglar. 

That’s why Tyler refuses to let his students drift into adulthood without direction.