Gavin Schmidt ’24 | Nayan Shankaran ’24
College. Let’s be frank—this word is central to the lives of the Class of 2024 and is at the forefront of all of our minds as we navigate the admissions process this academic year. We can attest to college admission’s apparent omnipresence while we push through daily loads of schoolwork and countless essays in our Common App. We know the feeling.
Nowadays, it can often feel like everything we are currently working on is for some nebulous end result which, to be fair, is true—but only partly. More importantly, the work that we do, all of the experiences we have, including related to college admissions, serve to edify us in the present. We just need to change our mindset. We need to make the most out of EA while we still can.
Nik Walling ’22, who now attends the University of Michigan, can relate. “The way that perfectionist tendencies started to translate is that I was a very high achieving student at EA, so it was very easy to create this kind of mindset where since I was such a high achieving student in high school, then that meant that I needed to get into the universities that are ranked at the top.” Walling cautions us not to fall into the trap of perfectionism that detracts focus from the present. He was able to combat this way of thinking and was fortunate to grow up in a household where “[his] parents fostered a culture where you try your best every day in school and don’t worry about how everything plays into the future. That was really important for [him], especially as someone who has perfectionist tendencies and achieves at a high level academically.”
Similarly, Walling’s classmate Myles Davis ’22, who attends the University of Southern California, feels as though his “mind was thinking a lot about college and [his] future steps, just because of the uncertainty behind the whole college process.” Being open to new experiences during his high school career allowed for Davis’ perspective to be broadened. “Don’t be afraid to try new things while you’re here as it can be a gateway to entirely new possibilities,” he urges.
Walling concurs, “I would really encourage students to just do their best and focus on putting the most effort they can into things that make them happy and make them complete.”
Michael Whalen ’08, Upper School History teacher, shares each of these recent graduates’ sentiments. He wishes he “had pushed [himself] to stretch [his] comfort zone a little bit more” during his high school years. One of the fondest memories Whalen recalls was when he joined the spring musical during his senior year. He says, “It was one of the most rewarding activities that I ever did, and it was something so different from what I was used to.”
Class of 2024 Form Dean Tanuja Murray agrees with Whalen that the present holds new opportunities and experiences. Through her observations of students, she remarks, “It’s easy to think about the future, it’s easy to think about the past, but you have to keep reminding yourself [to not] lose sight of the present.”
During our experience with high school, both of us have also come to the realization that we must savor what is in front of us. Since Pre-K, we have walked through the halls of EA, and the 2023-2024 school year marks our 14th and last year on campus. We have seen each other grow and develop as individuals, and we have discovered ourselves at EA.
High school has no doubt brought us periods of stress and anxiety about what is to come, but we have both learned to put things in perspective. We have realized that while college is an important step in our lives, it should not control our lives. From sharing laughs in classes like AP Chemistry and Honors Latin 5 to running The Scholium as Co-Editors-in-Chief, we have reframed our mindsets to enjoy the present moment. And, the present moment does not last forever.
There is no ‘next school year at EA.’ No more chapel bells to mark the hour, no more strolling across the green to get to class or to talk to friends, no more special dress days to remind us to embody the Stripes in our actions. But, as one of Whalen’s favorite quotes illuminates, “For the present is the point at which time touches eternity.” If we stay grounded in the present, EA will always live on in our minds and in our hearts.
Photo Courtesy of College Counseling Website