Looking back on the past four years at Francis Howell High School, seniors have experienced many different moments, some exciting, some challenging, but ultimately, all meaningful in their own way. Some students struggled with hard tests, while others celebrated perfect scores. A few started the year off walking into a class full of strangers and walking out with lifelong friendships. This journey has impacted each student in different ways.
“As a freshman, I was very stressed out and didn’t know what to expect,” senior Elicia Garbo said while reflecting on the beginning of high school. “Junior year might be my favorite year… [while] it was probably my hardest academic year, I feel like that’s the year where you really grow with your friends, and you get more responsibilities.”
Other seniors seem to agree with this sentiment.
“Junior year made the biggest impact, because it is the year you figure out what you’re doing after high school,” senior Evie Jungers said. Like many students at Howell, Jungers recognized her junior year as a turning point, a year that required more focus while she started to plan for the future.
Other seniors reflected on lessons learned through their time at Howell. For some, it was about developing better studying habits.
“I learned to take my time during assignments,” senior Ian Chuc said.
Jungers agrees and talks about time management.
“Throughout high school, I learned how [to manage time] and that you don’t have to be in every AP class to be successful,” Jungers said.
Senior Logan Linder had additional advice for underclassmen.
“Don’t sleep on your homework because it will tank your GPA,” Linder said. “Freshman year [made the biggest impact] because I was still getting used to stuff, and once I started to understand what high school was about, it started to influence the decisions I made.”
Together, all these reflections show how much growth can take place over four years. Almost all of these seniors started off as nervous freshmen and are now confident as they finish off their last year. High school is not only about learning academic skills but also valuable life lessons about friendships, responsibility and preparing for the future.
