On the morning of June 11th, 2019, seven student representatives stepped onto the stage of the XMT Annex Auditorium to share their stories of personal growth.

These students were not chosen based on standards of academic achievement or extracurricular activities, but rather, on who they are and what they want to do. Each of these students had a unique story to share; the audience was extremely intrigued by the variety of hobbies and pursuits their peers have. Some of the more notable anecdotes include a student who could repair cars, a student who struggled with three cultural backgrounds, another student with a keen interest in transportation, and a student who professed his love for cats. Towards the end of the session, Mr. Slonim and Mr. Pardy saved a few words of encouragement for the anxious juniors. They stressed that students shouldn’t slack off after the first semester of their senior year, for finishing college applications is not an excuse to let go of schoolwork.

Over the course of their junior year, students filed into college counseling sessions every Tuesday to listen to lectures pertaining to retrospection and introspection to better prepare themselves for college. It was a very wholesome and rewarding way to end the college counseling course this year, and students left the auditorium with a newfound sense of awareness.

(Written by 11(7) Linda Li     Pictures by 11(4) Cindy Bu     Poster by 11(2) Grace Chen               Supervised by Hazel Gu)