Thayer is unique because it really emphasizes community. Whether it’s theater or sports or anything in between, Thayer puts time and resources into making sure you can explore what you want to, do what you want to do, and make friends in the process.

I will attend Rice University to study neuroscience and computer science.

Ms. Khalili’s AP Chemistry class was my most challenging class at Thayer. She really hammers you hard with review questions, exploring every single angle of a topic. Even if she may not have literally gone through the material required to answer every review question, it was amazing practice to try to explore all the angles the AP may take and how to handle questions you’ve never seen before.

Thayer has prepared me for success by offering many interesting and challenging courses. From AP Physics in my senior year to World History Honors in my freshman year, Thayer has no lack of courses to challenge you and push you to the next level, and these courses are taught by wonderful and caring teachers.

Ms. Hines, the theater teacher, inspires me. I had the incredible privilege of directing and producing a musical for my Senior Project with Ms. Hines as my mentor, and I’ve got to say it is not an easy thing to do. She manages to direct and produce three to four shows per year, teach three different classes (all with multiple sections), and still be one of the most positive people at Thayer. I still can’t comprehend how she does it.

In February of my sophomore year, I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. I missed two weeks of school and fell really far behind. All the teachers were wonderful and supportive while I had pneumonia and in the weeks and months after, but Ms. Lombardi, my Geometry teacher, worked with me after school every day to help me catch up with the missed material. My grade fell from an A- to a D+ when I first got back, but she helped me get my grade back into the A range.

College Counseling really helped push me to explore schools I might not have initially considered. I was convinced that I wanted to go to an Amherst- or Williams-type college, but my college counselor encouraged me to visit schools like Tulane when I visited New Orleans. I left knowing I wouldn’t go to Tulane after the tour, but it helped me to realize that I can get a lot of what a small school has to offer while still being at a larger university.

My favorite meal is the bacon-wrapped pork chops. I typically don’t even like pork, but those are heavenly.

I’ve learned how to be adaptable. We switched to a semester system for classes this past year, and it was a little tricky to navigate that change. Classes that are normally a year long were compressed into half a year, so adapting to a much faster-paced class was difficult. I also took AP classes in the first semester, while the tests were at the end of the second semester. On both fronts, my teachers gave me the space to grow and adapt to changing circumstances, but were still there to support me whenever I needed it.

My favorite memory of Thayer is the countless times I spent hanging out with friends in the Bakker Reading Room in the library, having fun before play practice. We’d often get Panera and eat it around the table and call it “family dinner.” We’d also sit around playing Minecraft or drawing random stuff on the whiteboard.