As they prepare to graduate, seniors reflect on their elementary and middle school experiences, and how they’ve changed throughout high school.
Brayden Burton
A Peakview Elementary alum, Brayden Burton speaks well of his experiences there. “It’s pretty cool; I met a lot of my lifelong friends there,” said Burton. Along with his friends, one of the highlights of elementary school for him was family. “I have three older sisters,” Burton explained. “I got to go to school with one of them, which was really cool.” And though positive memories surrounded his early years, the transition to high school wasn’t always easy.
“I was actually scared to come [to high school]. I was a small freshman...So I was like, ‘what if I see all these big football players?’” Burton said. Once again though, he found solace in friends. “I played soccer, so I knew a lot of older soccer players that kind of helped me get around.”
His advice to incoming freshmen? “It’s kind of cliche to say, but join stuff. Join a club or something because that’s how to meet people, that’s how you’ll make friends.”
(Photo credit: Josiah Dunkin)
Adeline Hirsch
For senior Adeline Hirsch, elementary school was a bit of a blur. And as for middle school, one thing in particular stuck out.
“The best memory I can think of is that we did a musical, High School Musical,” Hirsch said. “This sounds really, really funny but I thought high school would be like High School Musical. It definitely wasn’t,” she added.
A prospective MSU Denver student, Hirsch had some advice for incoming freshmen. “[High school] is not as big as you think it is. It seems like there’s a lot of people, but I pretty much know all my classmates, so just put yourself out there,” she said.
(Photo credit: Josiah Dunkin)
"It's not as big as you think it is, so just put yourself out there." - Adeline Hirsch
Nick Xavier
For Nick Xavier, an Antelope Ridge alum, elementary school was a lot of fun. “I remember having fun in class and not being so stressed out about grades,” Xavier said. “Elementary school was a lot more enjoyable from what I remember.” The shift from elementary to middle school, however, was noticeable.
“Middle school was weird,” Xavier added. “I was still super energetic. And since we started to need to fall into line, I started to stand out in the wrong ways to my teachers, so I was in trouble a lot in middle school.” For many like Xavier, middle school did not represent the greatest memories. And as such, high school for many came as a relief.
“I feel like you have more freedom to be yourself [in high school]. And when people told me about how the popular kid stigma would go away, it actually did. Everyone was just in their own groups and you did what you wanted to,” said Xavier. “It’s just a lot more fun and there’s a lot more freedom to express yourself.” Starting high school can be intimidating, and for Xavier, joining baseball helped him to find a group and a way to feel like part of the school.
“I remember baseball season my freshman year. I played with the sophomore team, and it was weird because I just felt like a little baby compared to everyone else,” Xavier noted. Being part of a group like baseball can often make high school that much better. It also makes leaving that much harder.
“Leaving for the final time, this is crazy,” said Xavier. “I’m going to miss it, but I’m off to new things. So [right now] is probably my favorite memory.”
(Photo credit: Josiah Dunkin)
Tensae Demissie
Though she did not go to elementary school in the U.S., senior Tensae Demissie’s favorite memory from that time was being able to play outside. “I went out whenever I wanted to,” she said. And when she moved to Thunderridge Middle School for eighth grade, she explained that, unlike a lot of her peers, middle school was one of her favorite times.
“I loved middle school,” Demissie said. “I liked it better than high school. I was on top of everything.” The transition from middle to high school was thus more difficult. “I didn’t know anybody. It was hard and I was nervous. I didn’t talk that much,” she said. Despite a nerve-wracking start, she feels she grew a lot in the past four years.
“I’m more confident,” Demissie said. “I mean, everybody has, but I could speak more because I didn’t speak English well. I started speaking English when I was ten, so even in middle school I didn’t speak it well.” But above all, she says, her favorite memory from high school was making new friends. And after four years of growth, Demissie has some advice of her own. “Don’t expect anything, don’t procrastinate, and don’t take everything seriously. Take it easy on yourself,” she said.
Mia Alexander
Mia Alexander was one senior who attended Summit Elementary. Elementary school, she agreed, was of course a very different time. “I don’t remember doing very much," Alexander said. "I had the same group of friends the whole time and it was really nice. I liked it.” And unlike some of her peers, middle school wasn't all that different for her.
“I don’t think it changed too much," she said about rhe transition from Elementary Elementary middle school. "I had the same group of friends, which is kind of rare. I feel like I was lucky to have that.”Throughout middle school, Alexander had one memory that stood out as her favorite.“I just remember that I always walked to my friend’s house after school and I went there before school and we hung out," she said.
Going into high school was, for her, a much bigger shift. “There’s just so many more people that I didn’t get to hang out with [my friends] as much," Alexander said. She explained that because her friends all ended up at different high schools, it was a lot more difficult to keep the group together. This is part of why going into freshman year was so nerve-wracking.
"I was really, really nervous," Alexander said. "I made two good friends and then I was able to have a bunch of classes with them the whole time, so that made it easier.” Finding friends undoubtedly helps the transition. For Alexander, she was also particularly proud of certain clubs throughout her four years.
“I did culinary HUNCH and I thought that was really fun because I like cooking and I did that with my friends," she noted. "And just being in the honor societies was fun because I felt like I was involved in something.” Having tried a variety of clubs and successfully reached the end of senior year, Alexander's biggest advice is blissfully simple.
“I would just say that it’s not as stressful as you think it would be, so just relax and try your best," she said.
(Photo credit: Josiah Dunkin)
Xavier Sandoval
Senior Xavier Sandoval attended Peakview Elementary, where he remembers one thing in particular. “I remember getting into fights, and that’s all,” said Sandoval. And although that same pattern continued for him into middle school at Thunderridge, he had some positive memories of the transition too.
“I remember getting a lot more independence in middle school, and being treated less like a baby,” Sandoval noted. Transitioning into high school, he remembers his freshman year as the best year.
“I just remember it being the most fun year: the least responsibility, the least worry, and all that,” he said. For him, his favorite thing to be involved with was football; playing at games was not only his favorite activity but gave him his best memories as well.
And so to the incoming freshmen, Sandoval encourages them to think about all four years. “Enjoy your freshman year,’ he said. “And then it starts getting serious your junior and senior year.”
(Photo credit: Josiah Dunkin)
Meley Hagos
Quite a few students attended multiple elementary and middle schools --including now-senior Meley Hagos. Hagos, who attended Cimarron Elementary until third grade, when she moved to Challenge School, experienced the unique challenges of moving schools halfway through elementary school. She has one memory in particular that sticks with her. “We had those little caterpillars that turn into butterflies and we release them at the end of the year,” Hagos said, explaining that was her favorite recollection from that time.
Going from elementary to middle school was less than a great time for Hagos, though. “It just got worse to worser,” she said. Remaining at Challenge School through eighth grade, Hagos doesn’t remember those times fondly.
“My least favorite memory was when I got in trouble for my friends telling a boy not to say the n-word at my eighth-grade year,” Hagos said, detailing her frustrations with middle school. Thankfully, it got better.
“High school was good,” Hagos said. “I didn’t really have any friends, but I was excited for a completely different environment where I didn’t really know people, and to make new friends. Freshman year I signed up for a bunch of things and I did a bunch of clubs.” Of the clubs she got involved with, the one she’s proudest of is Sisterhood. For Hagos, Sisterhood was part of the reason high school was better for her.
“Honestly, just try a bunch of things,” Hagos advised. “It’s not going to hurt you and you’ll find what you like and you’ll find who your friends are. So just try a bunch of things; try a bunch of clubs, do a bunch of activities.”
(Photo credit: Josiah Dunkin)
"Honestly, just try a bunch of things. It's not going to hurt you and you'll find what you like and you'll find who your friends are." - Meley Hagos
Kyle Maccagnon
Having attended Fox Hollow Elementary, senior Kyle Maccagnon remembers elementary school in a positive light. His favorite memory? “Probably recess, to be honest,” Maccagnon said. “I miss that. Playing around was fun.” Moving to Campus Middle School, Maccagnon remembers the transition as being a bit intimidating.
“The school got a lot bigger and the kids got a lot bigger. That was kind of scary,” said Maccagnon. “But it was nice because there was a lot more freedom in middle school than elementary school.” However, his transition from middle to high school was perhaps even more significant.
“I had to make a lot of new friends because I went from a school by Cherry Creek to here, so that was kind of intimidating,” he said. “But I did have my older brother to help guide me around, so that was pretty nice and helped me out a lot.” In fact, his brother was an important part of his high school experience.
“My brother and I qualified to the state wrestling tournament together. That was pretty cool,” said Maccagnon, explaining that that was his favorite memory from the past four years. Along with wrestling, he was most proud of his involvement with lacrosse; both sports were a big part of his years at Eaglecrest.
Now, leaving high school, Maccagnon advises incoming freshmen to have fun. “Don’t be scared of the seniors; they’re not that bad,” he said. “And watch out for the seniors; they might be bad.”
(Photo credit: Josiah Dunkin)
Lily Hakim and Maria Duodu
Seniors Lily Hakim and Maria Duodu were not only classmates but have remained friends as well. Though both went to different elementary and middle schools, high school brought them together.
Hakim, who attended elementary school outside the Cherry Creek School District, remembers that time of her life fondly. “I just like the fact that my whole elementary class were friends,” Hakim said. Meanwhile, Duodu, a student at Sunrise Elementary and then Sky Vista Middle School, recalls her favorite memory from middle school as when she won first place at a track meet. Both remember their time in elementary and middle schools as generally a good time, explaining that the biggest change was going into high school.
“I think that as we grow older, obviously, we become more mature,” Hakim said. “As you go into high school, things just start to become more real and we start thinking about real life events: we’re going to go to college in a couple years, we have these AP tests to do.” Hakim describes how temporary ideas about real-life consequences and big life decisions felt before high school. She says things became much more concrete and permanent, especially going into junior and senior year. But it’s not just academics that changed for them.
“You just find out who’s more aligned with what you like,” Duodu added. Finding those groups of people with whom you work best is undoubtedly crucial to high school. For Duodu, joining No Place for Hate and Sisterhood were two things she was most proud to be part of --they both allowed her to be around more diversity. “In middle school, I didn’t have that. So when I joined those clubs and I really got to talk about more social aspects like race, it was more fulfilling than my academic clubs,” said Duodu.
"When I joined those clubs and I really got to talk about more social aspects...it was more fulfilling." - Maria Duodu
Hakim too described clubs that weren’t as fulfilling, though she also had a favorite. “I was involved in a lot of things for no reason, but I think the top one is probably SciTech. A lot of people were like ‘Are you serious? You’re actually going to go through with that?’, but then it was rewarding and I got to learn new things. I was proud of that accomplishment.” Though both Hakim and Duodu accomplished a great deal in high school and have found their friends, it wasn’t always so easy. Hakim said that going into high school she was very scared.
“I’m one of those people that was not looking forward to high school. I was very nervous and wasn’t really excited. But then as I met new people and joined clubs and sports, I started to become more open to it,” Hakim said. Duodu, on the other hand, had a different experience.
“I was pretty outgoing, so I wasn’t nervous about making friends and that aspect,” said Duodu. “It was more the coursework and transitioning from middle school to high school level.” Now, having made all the way through high school, Hakim has advice for new freshmen.
"It goes by fast...so really just cherish the moments." - Lily Hakim
“I would say the normal thing: that it goes by fast. Because it legitimately does,” she said. “So really just cherish the moments. I know, it’s so cliche.” Hakim recommends balance though as well. “At the same time, don’t involve yourself in so many things like I did,” Hakim added. “To be honest, I didn’t really get much of the high school experience until this year, and even then it was crazy because of Covid. So take part in more social aspects and be a part of school spirit instead of involving yourself in 50 different clubs and activities.”
Credits:
Josiah Dunkin