Athenian Faculty Offers Advice to Class of 2024’s Graduates

Athenian faculty members relish the opportunity to connect with Athenian students, often sharing various lessons they learned from their own experiences. The class of 2024 is no exception, as students have been able to forge relations with multiple faculty members. However, their time together is on the verge of coming to an end, as the class of 2024 prepares to embark on their new adventures. For the class’s final farewell, various faculty members decided to share pieces of advice based on what they learned from their own experiences after high school. 

“I wish for them that each successfully finds their own passion,” said Bruce Hamren, science instructor at Athenian, "It'll take some exploring, which is a good thing. But it will also take a lot of patience and self-forgiveness. You rarely just stumble right into it.

“If you want adventure and good stories and good memories and wonderful times, you have to take risks and you have to be responsible and you need to find your way.”

Bruce continued, “Here's [to] the people who know their path. Great for them, you know, the internship, getting everything in order, networking, that will direct you right into it. But you get locked into a job pretty quick, and after you have a job and you acquire some money, then you get married and there you are in life. So there's this gap where you really need to, I think, take advantage, explore the world, see how other people think. Find out who you are and what you want. Explore, travel. It opens so many doors, both internally and externally.”

Similar to Bruce, other faculty members also emphasized the importance of pursuing one’s passions.

“The fact of the matter is companies are going to train you the way they want you to be trained in terms of skills,” said Gabe Del Real, Upper School Director of Studies, “And you'd be surprised how many people who are with liberal arts degrees are in the business world because they know how to work with people. So, if you love history, study history or philosophy, study philosophy, love music, study music. Because where your heart is, so too is your treasure.”

Gabe also shared that those he knew who pursued majors that they didn’t want to study in hopes of obtaining a well-paid job were often miserable and felt trapped by the decision they made. He said that freedom should be the main objective and encouraged the class to instead follow a path built on passion rather than fear.

He continued, “Give up the notion that there's a right way to do it. There's your way to do it, and then that's going to be the right way. And be true to yourself. There will be times when you may have to choose between what you love and money. What you love will satisfy you more.”

While faculty such as Gabe and Bruce explained the significance of remaining true to one’s passion, other faculty members stressed the importance of expanding one’s interest by trying something new.

“Especially in those early years in college, I would love to encourage students to try things in the way that many of you have at Athenian,” said Kimiko Sera-Tacorda, literature teacher, “If you know what you want to do, of course, go after it, but there’s still time in your life in college to explore and try new things. Life will always surprise you, and you’ll make new discoveries all the time.”

Stephanie Kim, math instructor at Athenian, shared a similar piece of advice. “Wherever you go, just try and do the best in whatever you do, because there’s something to be learned and gained from any experience you have,” she said.

Faculty members also provided advice related to the social aspects of college life.

“It can be really hard to go to a new campus alone and not know anyone,” said Elizabeth Wright, science teacher, “And so my advice is to be able to make a new set of friends and a new friend group [and] say yes to everything. Anyone says ‘hey, you want to come here and do this?’ Say yes. Don't just sit in your room, on your phone, or on your computer. You've got to put yourself out there. Join things, try things, and you will be so happy that you did so.”

Kimiko expanded upon this idea. She said, “Sometimes it’s going to be those things that you’ve never planned. It’s going to be the person that you happen to sit next to during orientation or it’s going to be the person you happen to sit next to in your bio class; that is just complete coincidence. You’ll find your closest friends in the most unexpected places, but just be open to that. You’ll just never know who your next best friend will be.” She shared how she connected with her freshman-year roommate and how, despite the lack of shared interests, they forged a lifelong friendship. She elaborated on this by describing how she was a bridesmaid for her roommate's wedding and remains in communication with her. 

Similar to Kimiko, Stephanie also discussed opportunities to connect with classmates. “When you are at orientation is when everybody is new, so try to meet as many people as you can, because everybody is in the same boat and everybody is just as nervous and just as scared as you are,” she said.

Regarding the importance of developing relationships with others by connecting it to post-college graduation, Elizabeth said, “When you're in school, you meet people in classes, you meet people in clubs, you meet people in your dorms. But once you go and get a job, especially if that job is in a new place where you don't have other friends, it's really hard to make new friends. You have to try even harder, and if you don't try, people aren’t trying to find you. You have to be the one trying.”

Bruce shared something similar, emphasizing the importance of first impressions. He described how establishing one’s reputation through these encounters provides one with more leeway as those around them will begin to view them in a certain light. This, he claimed, will provide the person with a sense of comfort and allow them to destress during tense situations.

While some interviewees provided advice that connected to the social aspects of life, others also gave recommendations for the class of 2024 as to how to adopt a stronger mindset.

“They say that chance favors a prepared mind, which is true,” said Bruce, “This is where your education and your explorations, your adventures with friends into the natural world, and even into new topics that you didn't know anything about. You want to take the class in college or go on that research vessel or whatever. But as you're moving along here, to me, a really big thing is learning how to listen. Watch and listen and look for the serendipitous events and explore those pathways.”

Marty Rubio, humanities teacher, shared similar thoughts. He said, “My advice is to think about the resources put into it. This should be about transformation. Don’t think about it as something you have to get through–think about it as something that you’re going to participate in that’s going to transform you into something.”

While Bruce and Marty touched on the importance of maintaining an open mind and being present in the college experience, Elizabeth emphasized the significance of having an open attitude. “I just want them to know that the world is mostly full of good people, and people mostly mean well…And even if somebody says something to you that might have offended you, it might not have been intentional. I think if you go out with that attitude, I think you might enjoy yourself in life a lot more than if you're looking for trouble,” she said.

While faculty members heavily encouraged the class to remain open and look forward to the opportunities that will present themselves in the near future, some also emphasized the importance of remaining in touch with those who were supporting them from home.

“I always tell my seniors that when your parent texts you, you have to answer right away, because do you know what your parent thinks if you don't answer right away? We actually are pretty sure you're dead, because we know how smart you are,” said Elizabeth, “And if you were just in danger, you would have figured out a way to text us back. Therefore, you must always text your parents back.”

Marty also touched on this by sharing a solution students could use to remain in contact with their parents. “What you all have that we didn’t have is Google Meet. It does help to get on a video call with family, or even old friends. It’s ok if you’re homesick–that means that you care,” he said.

While the faculty members shared a myriad of advice related to the college experience, they also recommended that the class of 2024 remained connected with the school whenever possible. 

“I want people to send me their syllabi,” said Marty, “Let me live vicariously through your studies.” He also added that syllabi were an effective way to determine what courses the students should pursue, advising that they look over the documents in great detail and not only share it with himself but also with their parents to discover classes that would continue to nurture their interests.

Gabe also shared similar thoughts regarding staying connected with the Athenian community. He said, “I hope that they will always remember that Athenian is a place that they can always call home. That there will be something here, no matter how things may evolve, [and] that they'll always be welcome here. I hope that they remember that it was a place where they came to discover more about themselves because in the end, that's what life is about.”

Seniors Share Words of Wisdom

As the class of 2024 approaches the end of their penultimate semester at Athenian, they have begun reflecting on the experiences that have played a key role in their development and perspective. Whether it be learning to connect with others through Zoom in freshman year or overcoming the various challenges presented by AWE, the class of 2024 has been endowed with a plethora of knowledge and experiences. In order to help prepare the rest of the student community for what is to come, the seniors agreed to share pieces of advice based on what they learned during their time at Athenian.

12th-grader Kat Berg said, “Always reach out to people, whether it’s people in your grade or not in your grade or faculty or staff… Athenian is a very open community and people will usually wave to you as you walk by, especially staff…I noticed that when I look sick or I’m coughing a lot on campus, adults, even teachers, will be like ‘Go to the nurse’s office.’”

“[Talking to your teachers and peers] also makes you a more active member of your community, which also increases your enjoyment of a community as well as makes the community itself better and opens more opportunities,” Kat added. “Just reach out and don’t be afraid to talk to people, because people are open when they want to talk to you.”

Others also advised that students expand out of their comfort zone and connect with those around them, mentioning opportunities such as AWE or clubs. Some even discussed the long-term benefits of joining these social groups.

“It can be hard to find your place, but going to clubs is the way to do that,” said 12th-grader Cal Nunes. “[The people in clubs] are going to be your best buddies for the rest of the time and it’s a good way to talk to upperclassmen, who can also give good advice on a personal level.”

While some seniors were able to find their community through clubs, others connected with the community through sports.

“When I came to Athenian, I didn’t do running at all,” said 12th-grader Max Bennet. “I just started doing cross-country at Athenian and immediately found the coaches awesome and made friends in that small portion of the community.

“Honestly, I’m glad that I stayed doing cross-country and track, but I think it would’ve also been cool to try out more of the sports and clubs here and connect with more people.”

Similar to Max, other seniors encouraged students to explore possible interests and use it as an opportunity to further root themselves into the community. Some seniors encouraged students to connect with faculty.

“Your teachers want to see you succeed; they don’t want to see you fail,” said 12th-grader Katy Sprague. “I really struggled in freshman year with Physics and I didn’t want to ask for help, because I was afraid that I was going to be the only one (I was not). Bruce was so helpful in helping me, because he was able to explain things in a different way.”

Other students shared similar words of encouragement when discussing faculty.

“Going to office hours or blurting ‘Wait, can you repeat that again?’ isn’t going to make you seem less intelligent than you are. You’re not going to be judged for attending office hours,” said 12th-grader Quynh-Anh Nguyen. “It may seem embarrassing at the moment, because you are more vulnerable, but it’s going to benefit you in the long run with less stress.”

12th-grader Callan Huang gave a similar piece of advice to the international student community: “All of the international freshmen seem afraid of talking to their teachers, but I just wanted to let you know that all teachers are really friendly and they won’t judge you based on your language level,” he said.

Some seniors wanted to remind the student community to not worry so much about grades and focus on their mental health.

12th-grader Ana Evans said, “Of course [grades are] important. However, I think there are more important things such as your own mental health as well as just having a good time... Once I realized that my grades weren’t attached to my self-worth, I noticed myself being a lot happier and having a lot more fun and enjoying just living life and with that came enjoying school more and enjoying the learning itself.”

“I’ve spent plenty of my school life trying to get the perfect grades, and I feel like getting an A will never feel as good as laughing with your friends,” said 12th-grader Liza Corr. “Learning things and getting good grades are nice, but you can be happy without a 4.0 GPA, perhaps even happier.

“Embrace the community and realize the school you go to and the community you have.”