As we go on, we remember...: Senior Reflections

“As we go on, we remember…”

It’s pretty hard to believe we’re already more than halfway through the first semester of the school year! As finals are rapidly approaching, it’s a crazy time of year for Scholars. But for Senior Scholars, working tirelessly to submit their college applications, it’s an especially exciting (read: stressful) time. Although Schuler Seniors are deep in college-mode, it’s important to take a step back and reflect on their high school and Schuler experiences. So, I recently asked Warren Seniors to share some of their favorite Schuler memories with me. Seniors touched on a variety of different Schuler experiences, including exposures, college visits, camp, and the relationships they’ve developed with their Schuler family. Even though many of them are eager to embark on their college years, it’s pretty clear they will be cherishing these memories for years to come. Here are some of the wonderful responses I received:

“I went on a hiking camping trip in Michigan. We hiked every day and we’d sing the most random songs ever like Bohemian Rhapsody, Piña Colada, and All-star. We swam in Lake Superior. One evening, Daniela and I just laid in a hammock and talked for hours and eventually fell asleep. It was a great camping experience, I loved the group I was with and the Scholar Coaches chaperoning the trip. It was a great time.”

-Jezebel Madrigal

“...the last day of trail where I ended up becoming closer to my group. That last day, Fabrizio and I were chucking logs into a huge bonfire that we had, and then Kevin just comes up from the woods with these tiny twigs. One after another he kept throwing in those little sticks. Since we arrived at camp, Fabrizio and I had this kind of rivalry, to be honest. But in that moment, we basically bonded in that disbelief with Kevin. To this day, we look back at it and Fabrizio and I still rant about Kevin, but we all burst out laughing. It was that sort of odd group that ended up becoming closer on trail.”

-Catalina Romero

“My favorite memory would have to be during my overnight stay at Denison University. As a prospective student, I was a bit nervous because I was interacting with college students and I wasn’t quite sure if they’d be open for questions about their college lifestyle. Sure enough, my host was more excited to show me her campus than I was to see the campus. This instantly made me comfortable to ask questions about anything pertaining to campus life and the city the campus was in. This experience gave me the courage and skill to be open with my questions and not hold back. Putting myself out there and being brave made the rest of my time spent there to be the best time I’ve ever had on a college campus. And being on the campus and sitting in on classes made me think about how it would be actually sitting in that same class in about a year. This experience also gave me the motivation to continue to work hard to achieve that spot in that class and in that campus. I will hold that overnight stay to me heart and cherish every moment right down to the second.”

-Ashlei Carruthers

“My favorite Schuler memory was trail. I feel like I definitely pushed myself to step out of my comfort zone and build leadership skills that I use today. I genuinely believe that if I hadn't experienced trail I wouldn't be who I am today. Even though I don't think I really appreciated the bug bites at the time, I definitely appreciate the opportunity to grow today.”

-Maricruz Jimenez-Mora

“One of my favorite memories is performing a skit from "Twelfth Night" on my Stratford Mega Exposure because it was definitely something that was new to me and something that pushed me out of my comfort zone. Another fond memory I have is telling a story during Public Speaking STEP because I felt like I was able to portray humor as well as tell an eventful story simultaneously.”

-Zishawn Aijaz

“My favorite schuler memory is when we were paddling in during trail and I was in the same canoe as my junior leader. Since I was in the front of the canoe I had to wetfoot to make sure the canoe didn’t crash into the wall. I trusted my junior leader Alex when he said he’d tell me when to jump out and so I kept asking him “Should I go now?” or “How about now?” When he told me to go and jump out we didn’t realize how far out we were and instead of the water being up to my waist, I jumped out and went straight underwater and couldn’t even touch the ground. Best part about it was the huge amount of people there who watched it happen because we paddled in on a day where so many programs were going on at Manitowish!”

-Hannah Hansen

“My favorite Schuler memory is the All Schuler Exposure where all four classes went to see Mamma Mia and it was fun! I enjoyed it because being separated by the two campuses made it difficult to meet all the scholars but the exposure made that experience fun. Then after the exposure, there was the family dinner and it was so lively and entertaining”

-Gerald Galano

“Last year in junior seminar, our scholar coach set aside a couple of weeks to discuss how we personally felt about the in school protest in response to the racial comments written in the bathroom. For the first week I stayed quiet because I was never one to share my opinions on those topics. However, the other scholars in my seminar made me feel comfortable to share my ideas and it felt free, in a sense. I finally felt confident enough to share my opinions on politics and more ‘taboo’ subjects and I can take this newly found voice with me to college and through the rest of my life.”

-Cassidy Humphreys

“Schuler is one huge family and we all help each other out. We look out for each other and make sure that if there’s anything we can do to make each other feel better, we do it.”

-Daniela Villagomez

“My favorite memory was probably last year when I was having a hard time with school and outside of school; everyone in Schuler was so comforting. I think the best thing about Schuler is the community we created at camp and how it continues throughout high school, it’s a second family to have.”

-Ellie Rodriguez

“My favorite memory through Schuler would probably be the growth I’ve had with the people around me. I️ came to camp having no idea what I’m getting into and then coming home to such supportive and loving friendships.”

-Mufida Asmar