Whether you’re a new freshman or a 14-year senior, we all have at least one thing in common –  we are Parker students. Regardless of grade, talking to everyone is everything.

Being a new freshman in a school that is defined by student leadership culture left me clueless. Who was there to look up to? What was I supposed to do? How do I become like them? These are all questions I asked myself repeatedly, wondering what it really meant to be a Parker leader. I watched all the YouTube freshman year vlogs before I arrived at high school, had a calendar set up, and I was ready. The only thing missing was the steps for me to get there.

Sophomore year, I found answers in the junior and senior friends I made. Whether it was for “The Weekly,” Reproductive Justice Club, a Model UN trip, or people I could just go to for a laugh, I felt inspired. By having older students be a role model for who I wanted to be I not only became a Parker leader, but I learned more about who I wanted to become in the next two years. Without those connections, I’m not sure that I would have known how to navigate the seemingly intangible aspirations I had for my late teenage years. 

Now done with my junior year, I can’t help but think about that impact. I ask myself all the time, do younger kids see me the same way I saw older kids back then? The answer, I believe, is yes. While it’s cliche and sappy to think about, and freshman or sophomore year me would have definitely denied it, I think it’s true. Older students often forget the emotions we felt freshman and sophomore years, chalking it down to the easier half of high school. But when students across all grades choose to get to know each other, we have the opportunity to see reflections of ourselves. Having a younger student come up to me to ask for advice shows me that I have accomplished what I set out to do, and I hope all older students open themselves up to have that feeling at least once in their high school career.

LifeKits, Decision Day, and the baby photos on the wall of people just one year older than I are signifiers that my time at Parker will come to a quick end in one year. While it’s early to feel sentimental, I feel reflective of the mark I hope to leave on the Parker community. I know that I remember seniors from years past, and I’ll remember this class of ‘26 for sure. To become one of those remembered seniors, I know that I will be talking to everyone I can — in my class or not. 

I’m not sure what my high school experience would have looked like if I didn’t engage with everyone I could in the Parker community. Entering my final year of Parker, I can proudly say that I am fortunate enough to not only have the leadership I worked my high school career for, but the friendships I waited my entire life for.