As senior year comes to an end, many students take the opportunity to look back at the moments that shaped their high school careers. Some recall a special moment with friends, some remember winning a district game and some look back at a class that they absolutely loved.
For senior Angela Espenscheid, her golden experience came sophomore year in Art History class. While she had explored art and history as separate topics, the class helped her narrow down her career search and interests. She plans to study Art History at Florida State University next year.
“I’ve always liked art, and I like history, but I never really considered putting the two together until that class,” Espenscheid said.
Espenscheid took Art History before former teacher Maria Garcia retired. She recalls the class as one of her favorite curriculums mixed with education and fun.
“We were always the favorites. We were Mrs. Garcia’s last class before she retired. She gave us trinkets and computer stickers and let us have a lot of fun,” Espenscheid said
Senior Daniel Salinas had a similar experience when he joined TV Production in his freshman year. Salinas had always known he wanted to study film, but it was not until he started high school that he was able to participate in a program that gave him the resources and creative space to expand his interest. In the class, he studied every phase of the production process: filming, editing, directing and writing. However, the section he gained the most interest in was special effects.
“TV Production has a bunch of avenues and a bunch of ways to approach the medium, which I find really interesting. Right now I’ve been doing experimental assignments specifically with visual effects, which I might study in college as well,” Salinas said.
For senior Giovanni Sciuli, theater was her high school golden moment. She was introduced to theater when she was a freshman, and while she does not plan to continue acting after high school, she appreciates the people she has met through the program.
“My favorite theater production was All Shook Up…nothing beats All Shook Up. I was a freshman at the time so it was really inspiring to watch my upperclassmen make something beautiful,” Sciuli said. “At the end of the day, we’re all here to support each other and we watch each other grow.”
While many seniors believed a school program or class changed their high school experience, some, like senior Aidan Priore, look back on the after school activities they took part in as the highlight of their high school careers. At the start of high school, Priore had no interest in programming. When he joined the programming class his sophomore year, former programming teacher Chuck Haibel encouraged him to join the club after school. Now president of the programming club, Priore credits the club for teaching him how to be a leader and adapt to the unexpected. After the unforeseen passing of Haibel earlier this year, Priore was forced to take full responsibility of the club.
“It was one of the first times I experienced loss, and it was one of the first times I had people relying on me to get through this.” Priore said. “The week he died, I had to get the club into a competition. People were looking at me like, ‘Hey, I know you’re grieving, but we need this.’ The experience taught me how to adapt,” Priore said.
Senior Lori Guiterrez also learned how to be a leader in her high school community. She joined the swim team her sophomore year and became captain as a senior. The sport has become a community that she has been able to see grow.
“Being the swim captain is something that I’ll remember forever. It has been one of the best high school experiences, and I’m really grateful that I got to do it for three years. We are all so close and it has been fun meeting after school every day and swimming,” Guiterrez said.
Similarly, senior Joelle Jackson has been able to grow with her cross country teammates through her four years of high school.
“I did [cross country] originally so I could play soccer, but then I stuck around because I was like, ‘Wait, this is kind of fun.’ The thing about cross country is that it’s mainly an individual sport. So over the last four years, I saw myself getting stronger and stronger,” Jackson said. “I learned a lot of things about being an athlete and being a better person overall.”
While no single experience for seniors is the same, many will still look back at activities, classes, and groups they took part of during the past four years, and remember the successes, failures, losses and growth they experienced.
