Activities & Positions:  What activities and sports are you involved in? How many years have you participated? Do you hold any leadership positions?

 

 

Theater is one activity that I’ve been doing since freshman year and really enjoy. I participate in the fall plays which are a bunch of different cool scenes from varying plays and productions and it’s a lot of fun. I do stage crew for the winter musical because, if I’m being honest, I have a pretty terrible singing voice! My favorite, however, is participating in our Shakespeare production in the spring.

 

I’ve also been doing Science Olympiad since freshman year which is a national science competition, and we just made it to states last year for the first time. I’m also on the squash and tennis teams and I enjoy those a lot too. I was also Freshman Class president and I’m on the executive council this year, so student government is also something I’m very passionate about. I love all of these activities so I’d recommend any incoming student to try them.

 

Favorite Club: What’s your favorite club and why? What do you do in the club?

 

My favorite club is probably Science Olympiad. We compete in different science, math, and engineering related challenges and activities that we prepare for all year and try to advance to the next level. For example, this year some friends and I built a tower and spent months designing it to be as light as possible while carrying the most weight as possible. This club is my favorite not just because of the great group of people we have and the fantastic teachers, but because your success is a direct result of how much work you put in; it’s really satisfying when you see it pay off by medaling or doing well! Beyond that, I love the energy that fills the room during the competition, it’s like the perfect mixture of anticipation, nervousness, and pure excitement that is impossible to find anywhere else. We have a great group of people and I’m going to be sad to leave it next year when I head off to college.

 

Favorite Class: What’s your favorite class at Shipley? What do you like about the subject and the teacher? Did you always enjoy this subject, or did it take you by surprise?

 

My favorite class at Shipley was Modern European History Honors in 10th grade. I went into it a little nervous because I’d heard it was extremely difficult. While it was challenging, I learned more in that class than any other! I always knew I liked history, but this class definitely opened my eyes more and made me realize how much I loved it. The teacher, Dr. Pickering, does an amazing job delving into the complexities and nuances of why certain events took place which is the most interesting part to me. The assigned essays also greatly developed my abilities as a writer. This class furthered me as a student in basically every way so I cannot recommend it enough to anybody that has the chance to take it. It’s hard work but it’s worth every second for what you get out of it.

 

 

Favorite Shipley Memory: What do you think of when you think of Shipley? What’s one of the best things you’ve experienced here?

 

My favorite memory at Shipley occurred at the conclusion of my junior year. I was waiting after school before squash practice trying to cram in studying for a biology test. Out of the blue, three seniors I’d barely ever talked with came over and gave me pointers and helped me study for this test, eating into their own time just to help somebody they barely knew. This perfectly encapsulates the mindset of Shipley as a school. This reinforced that Shipley is a community where literally everybody is there to help their peers because it’s such a close-knit environment.

 

Most Valuable Lesson Learned: What have you learned during your time here?

 

My most valuable lesson learned at Shipley would have to be in 10th grade during Algebra II. I was having trouble on some of the tests and was asking for advice from some of my peers, and they told me I should just go to the teacher and ask for help on what I was struggling with. I’d always been a really independent student so I’d never gone to teachers for an extended period to ask for assistance, but it turned out to be incredibly useful and I realized how foolish I’d been to never do it before. This reaches further than Shipley though; I’d say it’s more of a microcosm of the most valuable lesson I’ve learned which is that relying on others doesn’t make you weaker but makes you infinitely stronger than you are alone.

 

Advice to New Students: What advice would you give yourself back when you started at Shipley? What tips would you pass on to new students? Are there any activities/traditions they should be sure to take part in?

 

My number one advice to new students is don’t be afraid to take risks. If I’d listened to people saying how hard it was, I never would have taken Modern Euro in sophomore year, or I would never have committed myself to as big a time commitment as theater, and countless other examples I could use. From my experience, high school is all about risk-taking and if you don’t try new things now, you’ll miss out on so much that you could end up loving. If I had to pass on any tips they would be: always go to teachers if you’re struggling with work, and if a teacher can’t help you, your friends and peers are always there for you; use the community and it’ll transform your experience; every staff member from a regular teacher to people like Ms. Van SteenWyk, the head of the Upper School, is there as a resource so if you have trouble with anything just go to them and you won’t regret it.