Mass Academy students reflect on their first semester of school as the second one begins
As juniors and seniors settled into the new semester with the start of C term, they reflected on all they had learned during the first one.
For juniors, it was an introduction to a new school and environment.
“I feel like everything has changed. My social life, attitude towards academics, and general way of viewing high school are just some of the many changes I’ve experienced at Mass Academy,” said junior Anyee Li.
For seniors, it was getting used to the experience of taking college classes in WPI.
“For me, the transition from classes at Mass Academy to college classes was pretty easy,” said senior Diego Suchenksi Loustaunau. “I felt that the classes I took in junior year adequately prepared me for the challenges of college courses.”
Seniors found that they enjoyed many of the classes that they took this semester, some of which they thought deserved a shoutout.
“My favorite course I took was ‘Introduction to Literature,’ which was taught by Professor Schachterle. We got to read a lot of books and I thoroughly enjoyed Professor Schachterle’s lectures. Overall, it was an interesting class and I was able to get good feedback on the essays I wrote for it,” Suchenski Loustaunau recalls.
Seniors also had to focus on finalizing their college admissions.
“College admissions have been going pretty smoothly. They did start slowly at first, but I have been able to pick up the pace since then,” stated senior Abhinav Bapanapalli.
Meanwhile, juniors started working on their STEM project, a task that is an unique experience for MAMS students and challenging for various reasons.
“I personally do feel satisfied with my project idea, but the biggest challenge by far was to get to that idea in the first place. Narrowing down an idea that I was motivated to stick with until February took a lot of time,” said Li.
Because the first semester was a starting point for everyone, many found that there were areas that they could improve on moving forward.
Juniors in particular stated that they could improve on their time management skills.
“Everything seems important, so some sacrifices have to be made. I also had to get used to more uncertainties,” junior Anne Tie said.
Allocating time wisely was something seniors also felt they could improve on.
“Next semester, I could improve my time management for college essays, especially when it comes to dividing time between that and homework for my courses,” Bapanapalli said.
However, not everything at MAMS is work. Though it is a busy environment, students were able to find the time to let loose and have fun.
Many juniors cited the two day trip to Bournedale as the highlight of A term, while seniors enjoyed using the facilities at WPI to have fun.
“After finals, I would go out and have dinner with my friends as a way to wind down. It served as a great bonding moment after the extended feeling of stress,” Bapanapalli recalled.
Overall, the first semester at MAMS was a period of change for all students, but it also helped them learn and connect with new people. Hopefully, the second semester brings even more learning and fun!
Anne Wu
Junior Staff Writer
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