What is it like being a senior?

Senioritis is a severe condition. Suppose you don't know what senioritis is. In that case, Google defines it as "a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance." Until my junior year, I believed that senioritis was something that all the seniors just made up. The senior year couldn't possibly be that bad, or so I thought. Reality hit me like a truck because yes, yes, it could be that bad. Senioritis would be bad at any school; coral does not help anyone. I don't think there's any way to prevent it; all you can try to do is put it off. It might work for a while, but there's no escaping it. The point is; senior year can draggggg. 

How is it applying for college? How do you choose what you want to do?

Applying for college is hard. It's incredibly easy to put off the whole process, and it can get complicated fast. My advice is to try to start as soon as you can, especially your FAFSA, so that you can get it out of the way and not have to put off the stress of it all. Don't feel scared to ask for help; your classmates, teachers, and advisors are there to help, and really asking for help when needed is the best thing to do. Choosing what you want to do and committing to studying is a hard thing to do. Don't feel bad about having doubts at any point in your education. There are so many choices and options to make it unfair for the world to ask you to be 100% about a career or field. My most immense comfort is that even if some college seniors switch their majors at the last minute, you could be exceptionally far into your education and still change your mind. Obviously, try not to go to graduate school for something that you won't end up using but don't worry about it right now. You have quite a bit of time. But if you want to have a more solid decision by your first year of college, UNR and possibly other schools offer orientation days. Those days show you around campus and specify to your major you can speak to professionals in your current field and ask them any questions. You could also shadow someone in your area. If you want to be a doctor, shadow a doctor, see if you can really handle blood. If you're going to work in law enforcement, go on a ride-along. There's a lot of opportunities to experience aspects of different jobs, you just have to look for them. But in the end, even if you are dead set on one field, you end up growing unhappy with it. Don't feel bad about switching majors. 

How do you feel about graduating soon?

Graduation feels like it couldn't come soon enough. At this point, I am desperately trying to care about this school and classes while I am still here. So I am pretty excited to finally graduate and get started with life. It is a big step towards adulthood and becoming independent so I hope my transition isn’t too harsh but I am excited nonetheless. 

Favorite/Least Favorite AP classes?

Favorite AP class would have to be AP Biology. Not only is Winzler an excellent teacher, but having experience with most of the topics because of PLTW biomedical makes the class much more enjoyable. Coming in second would definitely be AP Lit, not to sound biased, but it is a lovely class. It is a lot of work but some of the best things you can do take a lot of work. You get to discuss and talk about the works and your opinions. It's so much fun; it's the only fun thing because I was BLESSED with such a passionate teacher; Mr. Lydon is the goat. While his assignments can be tedious and crazily complex they are also so satisfying, new, and fun. Each task has a purpose, and while he prepares all his students well for the exam, he also makes sure we are capable of enjoying the subject we are learning. Then there's my least favorite, my absolute least favorite class; I dreaded every class period going into the course would be AP Calc— I mean AP Chemistry. While AP calc is a challenging class, it is definitely worth taking in high school if you firmly believe you can pass it. But AP Chem is a whole different nightmare. I think that everyone should just take AP Chem in college; there is absolutely no point in putting yourself through the pains of AP Chem in high school when you'll likely end up having to take a similar level of chemistry in college. It's just a challenging class, so while I passed it, it caused me endless nights of stress and worrying to still not be able to say I learned anything in my chemistry class. Considering that I was online and capable of logging off of the chem google meets, I still felt a wave of dread come over me each time I had to do any assignment. In college, if you go into a STEM field, specifically medicine, you'll have to take chemistry and organic chemistry at some point. Those two classes are usually taught by the same professor in many colleges, so I recommend starting from regular chem and then moving into organic chemistry to get a feel for how that professor teaches. I have heard that college professors are ten times better at teaching chemistry because they have years specializing in chemistry. If they are older, they have experience teaching multiple generations of students, so they have fantastic teaching strategies and make students remember the material. In the end taking chemistry is definitely your call. It looks good to have passed in high school, but if you don’t want to put yourself through chemistry until college, consider environmental. 

Favorite memories? 

I have a terrible memory; I honestly could not tell you which classes I took my first or second year without thinking about it. But I will never forget leaving Anna Ngo, aka Rocket, in the shower during a fire alarm at our West Wendover trip for volleyball. 

Should you work during high school?

Working during high school is different for everybody. It honestly depends on the job, person, or situation. It can be challenging to put yourself through, but some people also find their busy work life and school life enjoyable. It's an incredible feeling to be making your own money and growing your work experience but if it ever gets too overwhelming, put school first.  

Favorite Sports? Should you play? 

VOLLEYBALL. Volleyball is so undervalued at this school. I wish more of the student body, not just girls but boys, tried to play volleyball. Even though we don't have a boys volleyball team. The girl's team can always use managers who play and practice right alongside us. There is really no prior experience or knowledge needed. You can definitely learn a lot, but knowing the bare basics is perfectly enough to play. I had a great time playing volleyball. I've played for coral since the 7th; it's something I will never regret. Volleyball allows you to form lifelong friendships and develop a passion for a fantastic sport. Both the JV and Varsity Coaches Randy and Shayla, are such kind people who want to see every single person on their team succeed. Even if you try out for volleyball one year and don't make it on, please don't be discouraged; please try out again and again because I firmly believe each person can belong on the volleyball team. This year has been one of my favorites; as an athlete and a captain, having amazing coaches, underclassmen, and managers made the season a dream. So please consider pursuing volleyball; it really is a great time. 

Should you take the SAT or the ACT? 

I only took the ACT. I did take two PSATs with coral, but in the end, I chose to only do the ACT because I didn't want to waste my time trying to focus on two different tests. The ACT was my preference because it doesn't focus as heavily on math as the SAT does, while the SAT has three sections: math, reading, and writing, with the math being the most extended section at 80 minutes. The ACT has four short areas: math, reading, science, and math. But the difference is the math section is 60 minutes, and your score isn't wholly reliant on it because of the three other sections. So I would say if you are an English/science person, take the ACT only and work on getting the best score possible on it. If you are very math-oriented and can focus on math for 80 minutes, take the SAT and get the best score possible. 

Tip.

• As a senior, you have a mandatory study hall. Most of the time, you’ll have more than one because you don’t need anymore credits. I would try to have your study halls scheduled either in the morning or at the end of the day. Not many people know, but if you are 18 you can sign yourself out of school. So if you have a study hall for your last one or two classes you can sign yourself out and leave school early. If your study halls are in the morning, just show up when your first actual class starts. Make your schedule based on yourself, if you like to sleep in, morning study halls are for you, if you would rather leave early and have more time in the day, afternoon study halls are for you. Mine are in the afternoon because I tend to wake up early for tutoring before school either way so it makes sense to just leave early. Make sure to talk to Dehaven about these “absences” but they shouldn’t count against you since you aren’t missing any actual class. Fair warning though you could lose this privilege if your grades start to slip. Hopefully you guys still have this opportunity when you are seniors, hopefully the rules don’t get stricter for you guys. I’m rooting for your off campus lunches I promise. 

• No shade to Bonomo, but take the government online. The year of or before senior year. AP Government is supposed to be one of the five easiest AP classes to pass. While it is possible to pass it with Bonomo, it's an ungodly amount of work that no senior has time for. I do love his class and the discussions we have so it might be worth it to some. But I wouldn’t recommend adding the crazy work load onto your senior year, have fun senior year :)