Head Boy Andrew Youngson Encouraging Everyone to “Make Your Mark” What is your favourite sport? Rugby. There is a certain environment of teamwork that this sport creates like nothing else I have ever seen. You have 15 guys who are willing to give everything for each other, and that element of brotherhood is something that I love to be part of.
What is your personal motto? No deposit, no withdrawal.
What is your favourite place on campus?
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Crescent boy since Grade 3, Andrew Youngson says he has seen many changes during his school years – everything from new learning spaces and playing fields, to new menus in the Dining Hall. But he says what has remained constant is Crescent’s culture; it’s a school family where students are cared for and encouraged outside the classroom as well as in. As Head Boy, Andrew is urging everyone at Crescent to take up the motto that the Grade 12 Grads chose for the year: Make Your Mark. “With your voices and your actions, make your own individualized mark on our community,” said Andrew in his speech at Crescent’s opening assembly in September. “We were all admitted to this school because we offer something unique that benefits our community. Ask yourself, what can I contribute to Crescent School? If, at the end of this year as you prepare for your summer vacation, you leave knowing that you have left your legacy somewhere in these walls, then what a year it will have been.” Getting to know Andrew:
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Collective celebration is my idea of perfect happiness: The experience of being part of a goal in soccer, a try in rugby, a hoist during assembly; it fires Past and Present
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Fall 2016
me up like nothing else can. That’s why I enjoy athletics and school-wide gatherings so much.
What is your favourite thing to do on the weekend? I love to play ping pong; it is definitely one of my favorite pastimes. Whether it is with my brothers, my father, or my friends, I always have a blast playing this game.
What is your most treasured possession? A penny that I found when walking through Cambridge University in England. I have looked on it as a good luck charm ever since stumbling upon it.
What do you want to be “when you grow up”? I would love to be a doctor. The “why?” and “how?” questions and answers about the human body are of great interest to me.
Who are your heroes? My grandmother, who taught me that a little bit of love can go a long way. Her first priority was always us, her grandsons. That idea of putting others before yourself is something that I have tried to put forward in my life, and it is the legacy that she was able to instill in me.
I always prefer to enter school through the Manor House each morning because the Manor Courtyard’s beauty and peacefulness inspire me going into each day. It is also where my Crescent journey started, so there is a personal history connection.
What or who is the greatest love of your life? My parents, who have supported me through it all. They made the best decision of my life for me back in Grade 3, and that was to attend Crescent School. Ever since, they have always been there to pick me up after a late practice or rehearsal, offer support when I felt overwhelmed or made a mistake, and love me unconditionally.
What are you excited about for this year? Seeing the ideas that come up from student-based committees and the subsequent action that will be taken by the Prefect team. I am excited for how we will make our mark in this way.
What do you remember most about your first day at Crescent School? In Grade 3, Mr. Hunter told us to use our teeth to tear open the plastic bags containing all of our school supplies. It made me realize that even though we were at one of the most prestigious schools in Canada, we could still be boys and have fun.
If you could give one sentence of advice to the Grade 3s, what would you say? Try everything, find your thing, and give 100% to it. 17