What makes the auditorium special to you?

“The auditorium is the place that we have all of our shows and all of our rehearsals, and it’s just a place where we can have people come together. It’s where the cast comes together with the crew, with the audience. It’s really where all the magic happens and bringing everyone together, which is what makes theater so special.”

What is your favorite memory here?

“I had to say my favorite show to do was ‘Clue’ because it was such a fun show with the mystery, and it was so much fun playing Mrs. White. We had such a great group of suspects…we could really play off of each other, which was fun. My brother was in it, which is great that I could have that experience with him. It was just an awesome show.”

What made you interested in theater at Haven?

“I went to the community theater, and it was the best experience I ever had. So then I just continued Hedgerow Theater… and then I did it at the middle school, and then Next Generation Theater, and high school. It’s just a really great experience each year, just having done shows with people for so long. We’re really a close knit community which is great, and it brings me so much joy to have put on eight shows at the high school with an amazing group of people.”

What kind of impact do you hope to make on the spaces you’ll be part of in the future?

“I really want people to just enjoy theater. It’s something that’s so fun and we live in such a stressful world now, and it’s just such a great outlet to have a good time. The magic of the stage, you can’t get it through a movie, you can’t get it anywhere else. So come enjoy theater. Act in it, be part of stage crew, play an instrument in the pit, or be an audience member because, [with] any of those roles, you’ll just leave feeling better.”

What is your favorite memory from this place?

“One of the things that is cool about ultimate [frisbee] is it’s super accepting. We try to emphasize relentless positivity on the team. I’ve come from other sports as well, but a really cool thing about ultimate is that we emphasize making a home for everybody on the team, more than winning.”

What impact has this experience had on you?

“It’s been a huge part of my life. I played in freshman year, but it wasn’t super important to me. This has risen to the top as my main activity, and it’s helped me grow so much as a player and a person. This past fall, I got invited to the USA Youth 20 tryouts. I didn’t make the team, but it was cool. Only 100 guys across the country get invited. It’s exciting to be able to play at such a high level.

What made you interested to start in this experience?

“My mom played frisbee in college, and she won a Callahan, which is an award that goes to the best college player in the country at the time. So I think I was sort of inspired by her. As I went into more competitive experiences I sort of embraced this, and I was like ‘this is what I want to focus on.’ When I’m working on improving, I focus on following in my mom’s footsteps, and trying to make her proud when I play.”

What kind of impact do you hope to make on the spaces you’ll be part of in the future?

“Next year, when I go [to college], I’ll be the little fish in the big pond again. As I grow in those spaces, I want to bring a positive impact to the team with spirit, energy and positivity. As I start to become more of a leader in those spaces, I’d like to mimic the experience that I bring to the people here. I hope to inspire others to join, feel comfortable, and make it a home for them.”

What are some things you have learned from this experience?

“The biggest thing that physics has taught me is problem solving. I think taking physics really teaches you how to approach problems. If you’re stuck at some point, it teaches you how to move past that. It teaches you how to apply math better as well in other aspects besides just taking calculus. I think it also teaches a lot that can help you in other STEM classes.”

What made you interested in physics?

“I don’t know if I really had an interest in physics immediately. I think I just decided to take physics classes, and then the style of the problems, how difficult they are [and] the challenge of trying to work through them and solve them, hooked me after I got into it.”

How do you think Strath Haven has been able to help you with your journey in STEM?

“There’s a big emphasis on STEM at Strath Haven, and that helps a lot. The ability to go through so many math courses, and take many STEM classes besides physics were really useful. As for clubs, Science Olympiad obviously helped me be engaged with STEM in general.”

How do you see yourself using your skills from STEM in the future?

“I’m trying to get a job in STEM and physics, which is a big thing, and I think the mindset that [you gain from] going through physics, math, and other subjects is really useful outside of school as well.”

What is one of your favorite memories in this place?

“The last home meet that we had here against Springfield. I can’t even remember the outcome of that meet, but it was so memorable. Not only was it emotional as the last home meet, but because I had a really rough season this year, and that last swim in this pool really mattered. I got a really fast time that I was super happy with. The comfort and shock that I saw in my teammates and my coaches was so comforting. It was an awesome feeling.”

What impact has being a part of swim and dive had on you?

“It’s enabled me to grow so much… swimming is such a mentally difficult sport, even beyond the physical nature of it, and knowing how to be there for others, while receiving support from others, is such an enriching process. While we may not be the fastest or the strongest team, we’re definitely the most bonded.”

How did you get involved with swimming?

“I started swimming competitively when I was 7… the first time I was in a pool, I was probably around 3. My eldest sister started swimming when she was in elementary school, and then my middle sister did it. I kind of just did it for a while because they did, but eventually I found my own groove and rhythm, and was like, ‘wow, I really like this. I want to keep on doing this.”

What will you carry from swim and dive into your future?

“I know how to carry resilience and perseverance, and channel my being into everything I do, whether it’s mentally calming myself down, getting in the right headspace, or just having the work ethic to succeed. From this team specifically, it definitely has to do with being able to support other people and learning how to be there for people. Different people respond differently to situations, and so I’ve learned how to navigate that and know what to say in the right moment to best help people, and put them on the pedestal that they deserve to be on.”

What makes this space special to you?

“The chorus room is somewhere that I have found myself through all four years of high school. My freshman year, I was in Theater Workshop with Mr. Shankweiler, so I had a class in there. I did Camerata for three years, and then my sophomore year I joined Cantata and Silvertones. I’ve had to come a lot of mornings at 7am and it’s a nice way to start my morning. Being able to talk to people, sing a little bit, [and] do what we love makes it such a nice environment.”

What is your favorite memory of this place and why?

“There was one time, it was my sophomore year. Mr. Shankweiler was walking across the chorus room and he slipped and fell, and it was so funny.”

What are some skills you have learned from this space?

“Bettering my singing experience in the morning and fifth block, and then some of our night rehearsals, so I am in here a lot. I had my first two years with Mr. Shankweiler and my last two years with Mrs. Silva. They both have pretty different teaching styles regarding singing and vocal music, so I am grateful that I did get to experience both of those different styles, which will definitely help me in the future.”

What kind of impact do you hope to make on the spaces you’ll be part of in the future?

“I want to be a nurse practitioner for pediatrics, and in the chorus room specifically, I do think I’m good at brightening the mood. I think [I] make people feel comfortable and welcome, especially now that I’m a senior and there’s someone who hasn’t been here before. I do like to think of myself as being welcoming. I want to have that same presence when I’m working in a hospital, especially with children. I want them to feel comfortable in the environment.”

What makes this space special to you?

“I’ve made so many memories here over the [past] four years. I feel like the [new] dugouts represent the progress we’ve made within [softball]. I feel like it also [represents] all the memories we have. The space echoes a lot because it’s so enclosed so I think that helps during the game, keeping it noisy, and we need to have energy.”

What impact has this experience had on you?

“Softball [has] taught me a lot of resilience and leadership. I feel like it’s definitely the space and just softball as a whole that has taught me [those skills], but also how to build connections. I’ve always played [outside of school] and not [everyone] plays softball outside of school, so [I’ve] learned how to interact with every type of person. Softball is a pretty diverse sport in terms of who plays it, and I’ve talked to a lot of different people that I wouldn’t otherwise talk to, [and I’ve made] great friends here.”

What is your favorite memory of this place and why?

“I would say it’s not one specific memory, but all the practices with everybody in the dugout, getting to chat about whatever’s happening in our days, or if there was a big upset in the league. [The dugout is] a nice space to talk and the conversations are really reachable and easy.”

What are some of the skills/things you will carry with you into your future?

“I think it’s just that resiliency and being able to get through hard things. We’ve had some tough games, and being able to persevere through [them] and learn from losses. I feel like I have a lot more growing to do, but I’ve also had a lot of growth with figuring out how to deal with the losses. It’s such a packed season, so I think getting through those losses and getting through that with the team and learning how to lean on your teammates has been a really big part of that.”

What made you interested in this activity?

“When I started doing it, I had no idea what it was about, and I was really only doing it because my friends were doing it. I thought it would be fun to go to tournaments with them. But, then as I actually started competing, it was really fun. It was like a game and I realized I was kind of good at it. I really found a passion for it.”

What are some of the skills you have learned from this experience?

“When people think of debate, they think it gives you good public speaking skills, which is definitely part of it, but the biggest skill I’ve found is the ability to process information really fast. In a debate round you have tons of information dumped on you and you have to be able to process all of this information in a short amount of time. [The] skill is applicable to any job and anything you want to do. It’s a unique and difficult skill to develop that is really only possible through debate.”

What impact has this experience had on you?

“A pretty big impact, I’ve met lots of people who inspire me. It’s taught me a lot of things, I’ve learned more about the world, about what I value. I’ve learned what I’m good at [and] gained lots of skills. It has been a major part of my high school experience and influenced who I am.”

How do you see yourself using this skill/experience in your future?

“The skills it has given me will definitely be applicable for research I do in college, job interviews and even in the workforce later on. Talking to people who go to my school, I realized that I know some of them through debate and it’s introduced me to people from across the country and internationally. The general knowledge I have of the world now, of how states function, politics and all these things will be very useful to know.”

What makes this space special to you?

“Mainly just the atmosphere of the classroom. It’s not like any other classroom, you get to work hands-on. Especially fifth block, I think it’s really great that it’s a lot of different people. You’ll see people from every lunch table here, and it’s just like a really open and great environment.”

What impact has this experience had on you?

“I think it’s been really great over the last few years just to have a space that’s very relaxed and a nice environment compared to other classes. I get to come here at the end of the day and relax and work on something that I enjoy. It’s a contrast from ending your day in another class, say math or something that’s high stress. It’s a nice way to end the day.”

What is your favorite memory of this place and why?

“I feel like a lot of people in ceramics one just kind of take it because you can say it’s an easy-ish elective. But I really like coming in here in the fifth block when it’s just all the people who are really into it. I feel like there’s a group of us who are generally in here all the time at fifth block, and I think just coming in, being in that space, is really great.”

How do you see yourself using these skills in your future?

“I think it just builds creativity, especially in problem solving too. When it comes to clay, you come across a lot of problems and there’s only specific ways you can do things with clay. You have to take those and figure out how to make something work. So I think it’s a lot of problem solving skills, and then also just creativity.”