MOBILE, Alabama — Classes resumed this month at St. Paul’s Episcopal School in the Spring Hill area, and for members of the roughly 100-student senior class, the opening days carried extra weight as the final stretch of their high school careers got underway.
Football, parking spots and one last banner run
For several seniors, the small perks of finally being upperclassmen loom large. One student said she was most looking forward to claiming a spot in the senior parking lot and being part of the first group to run through the field banner at football games this fall, even as she admitted the idea of heading off to college next year felt nerve-wracking. A classmate who plays safety on the football team said he was eager for pep rallies, a senior banner of his own, and a class trip to Disney World planned for right after Mardi Gras, calling it mostly about “just being leaders” for the underclassmen.
Balancing leadership roles with looming decisions
Other seniors are juggling student government and academic competitions alongside college planning. The student council president said she was looking forward to a fall youth government conference and a statewide youth chief justice event in November, while dreading the pile of college applications ahead of her. She is weighing offers between two flagship state universities. Another senior, a swimmer who recently returned from a national junior championship meet, said he hopes to parlay the sport into a scholarship and is also considering military service academies as he thinks about life after graduation.
Advice for the freshmen who will follow
Asked what they wished they had known as freshmen, the seniors offered similar themes: don’t be afraid to change, get involved early, and don’t take the years for granted. One senior who has attended the school since age four said he found deep comfort in its familiarity and expects the transition to a new place next year to be difficult. Another encouraged incoming students to use their freshman year to explore clubs and interests so they can figure out what truly excites them before narrowing their focus in later years.
A shared sense of urgency
Several students echoed the idea that high school passes quickly and that there are opportunities available to them that they may not fully appreciate until it is too late to take advantage of them. With football season, service clubs, choir, theater and academic competitions all getting underway again, the senior class at the private Mobile school said they intend to make the most of the traditions built over four years before scattering to different colleges, and in some cases military academies, next fall.