Years at Shipley: Six

 

Please list your activities and any positions held:
Performing Arts Committee (President), Shipley Singers (President), Community Life Representative, Admissions Ambassador, Swim Team, Fall, Winter, and Spring Theatre Productions, Civic Activism Club

 

Ms. Gearhart taught my English class for my freshman, junior, and senior years. I had the privilege of fostering my enjoyment for writing with her to guide me. What really resonates with me from her classes was how teaching at Shipley was not just a job for her, but a passion. Her dedication to our class and studies was wonderful to see because it helped me and other students be able to feel at home in a certain way.

 

My favorite class was my junior year English class. The combination of having Ms. Gearhart as a teacher and reading some of the best literature (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Great Gatsby) so far in my life, made for a challenging but enjoyable year.

 

I fostered my love for theater and performing at Shipley and I remember my first production. I was in Bye Bye Birdie in seventh grade and received the role of Harvey Johnson, who had six lines. At the time, I was in awe of how important I felt, getting a role with several lines and a signing part in a song.

 

I like to split the phrase into two parts. With Courage for the Deed, it is a message to be present for all of life's steps; the good, the bad, and everything in between. For me, Grace for the Doing translates to approaching those steps in life in a way that feels authentic to you; by doing what brings you closer to your values and honors yourself.

 

Complete this sentence: Shipley has prepared me to… help others by dedicating my life to what I am passionate about.

 

There were people at Shipley who helped support me when I was unable to do so myself, and I will never forget that. Especially in high school, Shipley helped me foster my love for learning, to genuinely be excited about a class or certain material we studied. In addition to many other things, Shipley helped me to become the man I am today, to find out what inspires me and what I am passionate about. It really sunk in for me during the production of Legally Blonde: The Musical, when I was singing my character's solo and I looked out into the audience and, on the inside, was completely shocked. It had only then just hit me that I was singing in front of a few hundred people and doing something that I love regardless of the opinions of others.