COLLEGE AND LIFE
Two seniors reflect back on their seven year “career” here at SAAS in honor of their upcoming graduation.
Sadie Cook ’20
I began my time at SAAS almost seven years ago. To an incoming family, my initial experience then might be unrecognizable now: both the STREAM and new Middle School Buildings did not exist, there was no Music Production class nor Robotics programs of such high caliber, and the weekly schedule allowed for only one double block a week per class. I entered the 6th grade unsure of who I was and where I was headed, yet SAAS provided me opportunities to explore every budding facet of my identity. It not only provided them, but encouraged me to take advantage of them, too. As each year passed, I watched SAAS grow; and I found myself growing alongside it. I now see that it is an extremely unique privilege to be able to watch your own administration take risks, combat challenges, and broaden their horizons while you do so, as well. I was taught within each of my academic classes, but also by observing the process by which my school altered
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BEST OF SAAS
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its perspectives and goals in order to cultivate impactful worldly contributions. It was under this mindset that I felt confident enough to leave SAAS and attend a semester-abroad program. Of course, SAAS supported my re-entry seamlessly, but even more so was that faculty members genuinely cared about the way my semester-abroad experience had influenced my notions of positive learning environments. I felt supported in the same way I had in the community I had created abroad; comforting, as I had been fearful I would not find that support again. In hindsight, it is unsurprising that SAAS proved me wrong.
While I still have much to learn, I leave SAAS knowing the areas of life that ignite a drive within me. I had little interest in music at eleven; now I spend a significant portion of my week practicing with The Onions, the school’s top jazz choir. Reproductive rights were far from my mind, yet today I co-lead the Planned Parenthood Club and helped plan this year’s first schoolwide Sexual Health Week. I owe these interests and many more to SAAS. For, as much as SAAS is an entirely different place from when I started, it has not strayed from its heart. Students can and always will be able to take an introductory course in Ceramics and go on to be an Advanced Art student, or join the Youth Legislature Club and discover their passion for civic engagement. The options are unlimited, and I am excited to see the path SAAS chooses to take as the school grows and society changes over the next set of seven years. ☜
