senior – AHS NEWSPAPER

Senior Boat Cruise Returns; Senior Board’s First Steps for Fun Senior Year

October 7, 2024

Brandon Nguyen
EXECUTIVE EDITOR

The event was held on September 29 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, departing from 60 Rowes Wharf in Boston. Activities included a picnic dinner, a DJ, dancing, and views of the sunset. The decision to renew the event was made by the Senior Board advisors, health teacher Holly Breen, and math teacher Scott Armstrong.

Previously a longstanding tradition for seniors at AHS, the boat cruise was last held in 2019 before being canceled due to the pandemic. “When I was the Senior Board Advisor in prior years, we always had the boat cruise, which was always a phenomenal event,” said Breen. Another reason for bringing the boat cruise back was in order to spread senior events throughout the school year. “We don’t want to just have senior activities at the end of the year,” said Breen, “we want to get seniors really starting to hang out together and to be a group and community at the beginning [of the year].”

According to senior Shreya Desai, a member of the Senior Board, a large school issue the Senior Board is focusing on tackling is the lack of school spirit. “We all felt like we had no fun senior events until the end of the year with Senior Week. And with the beginning of the year so stressful for seniors with [college applications], we wanted to give seniors a little more fun.”

320 tickets were sold, according to Breen, out of 410 seniors at AHS. “A big part of that success has been the students on the Senior Board,” said Armstrong. “Their biggest part was getting the word out and getting people to come, which they clearly have been successful at.” Senior Aidan Loucks, another member of the Senior Board, stated, “Our goal is to make this a super fun year for everyone, and get as many people attending and engaging in community events like this.”

STAFF PHOTO / Brandon Nguyen
Seniors look out at the Tobin Bridge in Boston Harbor from the cruise

The boat cruise isn’t the only event the Senior Board has planned this year. “We have Homecoming on October 19, and the charity football game will be the Monday before Thanksgiving,” said Breen. “We’ll also do the Halloween Costume Contest, and we want to do another event in February or March that’s open to all seniors.”

Loucks and Desai both agreed that their main goal with upcoming events is to increase the turnout. “Attendance wasn’t quite as we wanted [last year] for Homecoming while I was on Junior Board, but this year we’re hoping to turn that around,” said Loucks. “We’re going to work with the Junior Board this year,” said Desai, “to try and bring some new ideas to Homecoming and other future events.”

Overall, the Senior board is working towards brightening up the school and creating a closer community for AHS seniors. “I hope more students just get involved and participate in what we’re planning,” said Armstrong. “I think it’s really going to enhance the culture, but more importantly, it’s going to be fun for everyone.”

Credit For Life Fair Transitions to Junior Year

May 6, 2024

By Xander MacKay-Kao
STAFF WRITER

The 2024 Credit For Life Fair was held in the Field House on April 10. Ordinarily, the fair is exclusive to seniors, but this year it included both juniors and seniors in an attempt to transition the fair to a junior event.

The Credit For Life fair is a New England-wide organization formed by several banks. Handled at Andover High School by the Andover Service Club, the intention is to teach students entering adulthood financial literacy to prepare them for the real world. With a gift card raffle reward from the Andover Service Club, students are incentivized to complete various stations with a website that allows them to use a realistic salary with realistic expenditures..

The event is run by Social Studies Program Coordinator Gregory Hurley, who is passionate about the ideals of the fair. He said, “I never had anything like it. A lot of my financial decision-making was trial and error with a good amount of error and a good amount of trial.” He asserts that “school is a place to make mistakes, and make mistakes safely. It’s supposed to be a place where you can take risks and it’s okay because we build in ways to support you and pick you up and say ‘Okay, let’s not do that again.’”

Before Hurley, Assistant Principal Scott Darlington ran the Credit For Life Fair. AHS started the Credit For Life Fair in 2017. When asked his thoughts on it, Darlington said, “I think it’s one of the most important things that we do. It’s the one area that we can guarantee every student that they’re gonna have to deal with, no matter how much money they have.”

The fair’s utilization of an interactive website is relatively new, being introduced during COVID-19 due to the necessity for online functionality. Previously, it was done through clipboards and paper.

This year served to transition the fair to junior year to allow juniors to take further classes in the field in their senior year if it piques their interest. This was done through having the fair invite both juniors and seniors. One junior, Wes Aja, said, “I think that it definitely made me more interested but not enough to take a class on it.” Junior Owen Andrade echoed this opinion. Others like Glafira Kiyko said, “Honestly it wasn’t too interesting, I was just getting stickers for listening. It was hard to understand what was going on and the probability of taking further classes [hadn’t] changed.”

In order to handle the amount of attendees, students were asked to register for their careers ahead of time, fixing a recurring issue of students spending the first 20 minutes of the fair sitting around figuring out what job they want.

Edward Mukalazi Heads to Washington

February 28, 2024

By Jill Slotnick
CORRESPONDENT EDITOR

Eddie Mukalazi, a senior at Andover High School, has always been passionate about politics in his community. He was selected for the American Legion Boys State, a competitive program for boys interested in government who are going into their senior year. There, Mukalazi ran for the highest office possible – the US Senator. This position, won by campaigning and gaining the highest number of votes from the other members of Boys State, earned him a place in Washington DC at Boys Nation. There, Mukalazi learned about another political program, the US Senate Youth Program. The two organizations are similar, but instead of a campaign, he went through an extensive application and interview process. Soon, Mukalazi will travel to Washington DC for a week to take part in this nationally renowned program, where he will meet Supreme Court justices, politicians, and other members of the federal government. ANDOVERVIEW sat down with Mukalazi to discuss these exciting opportunities.

Q: What are you most excited to do when you go?

A: I went to DC for the first time over the summer with Boys Nation so [I got to just be] there and [go] into the Senate rooms. Just being in the places where things are happening is a really cool experience. The thing I’m most excited for, though, is getting to know kids from across the country. I think it’s awesome [to be] around people that are smarter than you that do amazing things in their communities. Being able to learn from and make connections with them is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Q: Who are you most excited about meeting?

A: I think people from places I’ve never been before. At Boys Nation I really liked that. Just meeting people from like the South, because I’ve never been there. I think a lot of people also have preconceived notions about places that they haven’t been to before and I like seeing the preconceived notions being broken down in real time. And also just allowing people to be who they are before judging them for where they come from.

Q: Were you expecting to have these opportunities or were you kind of shocked?

A: I was definitely kind of shocked. I think last year especially was kind of crazy, because I’ve been passionate about politics and social change throughout high school, but I never really thought I could go to DC or be able to do things like this. One thing I’ve learned is if you care about something and you show that and wear your heart on your sleeve, people see [it] and respect [it]. There’s 400 or 500 other kids just from around Massachusetts that equally care about issues in their community and have different struggles and different problems they want to solve and be a part of their solutions. I never really thought that I would be able to represent Massachusetts at Boys Nation or one of those people who made a difference in that way. I think it’s just believing in yourself and the preparation you put in to be in those spaces.

Q: What do you plan to do after high school?

A: I think for college I [will] definitely… major in either political science or international relations. I just want to see what opportunities different majors present me. You know, what internships with politicians in my community at the state or federal level [or]… judges’ offices [exist]… I really just want to see where whatever opportunities I get and where I go to college takes me. Wherever I go I think I can have great opportunities.

To the Class of 2024…

May 31, 2023

College Application Advice from a Soon-to-Be Grad

By Naomi Bloom
MANAGING EDITOR

The senior class of 2023 is officially done with classes and is onto a week of senior activities and unwinding after four long years of high school. The rising seniors in the class of 2024 aren’t too far behind, but they have a large obstacle to overcome first, one the graduating class has already conquered: the dreaded college application process, just lurking beyond the horizon, if not already present.

However, as overwhelming as the process may appear, it does not have to be that way. A lot of juniors haven’t even started thinking about post-high-school plans yet, but now is the best time to start to make sure that you don’t end up pulling all-nighters to speed-write supplementals later on in the year. So, without further ado: to the rising seniors, this article is for you.

One simple piece of advice that I would recommend to everyone is to start as early as possible. Even if you aren’t actively working on your CommonApp essay or the actual pieces to submit, trying to figure out what kind of college you would like to attend is a good thing to identify before the end of the school year and over the summer. What size college? Close to home? Any specific majors or programs? Simply refining what kind of college you prefer makes the college application process significantly easier down the line.

Emma Pantazi, a senior, said that since applying early action to colleges increases your chances of getting accepted, it’s important to plan ahead. “Don’t wait until the first day of school to log into the CommonApp,” she said. “Fill out as much as you can over the summer.” “It will save you so much time since the beginning of senior year is often very busy for many students,” she said.

Senior Rachel Irza added that she wished that she knew more about the CommonApp platform prior to applying, so perusing the website a bit before may also help make your application smoother.

Additionally, while it’s easy to get caught up in ambitious dreams of going to an Ivy League college, it is also important to have realistic standards. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get into an Ivy, but remember that not getting into Harvard doesn’t mean you’re any less of a student; that applies to any college, really. Senior Diya Ganesh reinforced this. “Don’t take rejections personally,” they said. “It’s gonna happen, you’re not gonna get accepted everywhere.” Especially in Andover, a very competitive town that puts a lot of pressure on students to get into the highest ranked colleges, it’s important to remember that what matters the most at the end of the day is that the college you choose to attend is good for you, academically, socially, and financially. A tip to manage this is to apply to different colleges in a range of competitiveness—safety, meet, and reach schools. On Scoir, where AHS students can explore colleges, you can see what kind of school each would be for you, based on your GPA and standardized testing scores. But, do keep in mind that even if you aren’t a great test taker, it’s definitely not the end of the world: many colleges are still test-optional, and they will take into account your other strengths, whether that be academically or in extracurriculars. “You’re unique, your values and goals are so, so important and so, so different from everyone else’s,” said Ganesh. “Use that to your advantage in your applications and be confident in who you are. Confidence is key.”

While this may seem impossible, try not to stress yourself out too much. Regardless of what your post-college plans are, you will end up in the right place in the end. As long as you work on your application a little bit each day, you’ll never have to do too much work at once. “The college application process is a lot easier than everyone will tell you,” said Panatazi. “We’re teenagers, we like to complain. Know that everything is a lot easier than everyone makes it out to be.”

But, when things inevitably become at least a bit stressful at some point, remember that there is good at the end of it! Once applications are submitted, all you need to do is wait, and once you decide, it is really smooth sailing from there. Make sure to try and enjoy the last half of your senior year to the fullest. Try to spend time with your friends and family before heading off to college, and appreciate the last few months of high school. It’ll be over before you know it.

“I have enjoyed having a schedule full of classes that I am passionate about,” said Irza. “Being able to have a lot of flexibility with courses this year has made my senior year experience super fun and memorable.”

On another note, this will be my last year here, as well as my last year as part of the ANDOVERVIEW paper. It has been such a wonderful experience, and I am honored to have been the Managing Editor this year and have the privilege of working with such a talented group of writers. It has truly been a joy, and if you are considering joining Newspaper Production, I would absolutely recommend it! Congratulations to the graduating class of 2023 and have a great summer!

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Amping Up for Senior Prom

April 7, 2022

Caitlin Connell
STAFF WRITER

The Class of 2022 Senior Prom is finally upon us. The prom will be held Saturday, May 21, at Castleton in Windham, New Hampshire.

Prom will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 10:30 p.m. Students are required to stay for the entire duration of the prom. Tickets for prom will be $100 per person as it includes entry to the prom as well as dinner. The school will not require students to take buses with the school; they will be allowed to arrive as they so choose.

“We are not anticipating needing to [take buses], but there may be some students that can’t get a ride there themselves,” stated Senior Board Advisor Laura Jordan. “We are going to wait and see how the ticket sales go, but there is no requirement to take a bus.”

Jordan said the tickets “should be on sale the week before April vacation, down in the cafeteria after school.” So don’t forget to buy your ticket after school in the cafeteria.

COURTESY PHOTO / Emily Fotter
Senior Emily Fotter picks out her prom dress at The Ultimate.

When you order your ticket, you will also be able to choose your seats for the dinner at prom. Make sure to have your seating arrangements picked out before buying tickets, as you will not be allowed to change your seats after submission. There will be 10 seats per table.

The dinner is also a big part of the night and is one of the only times the whole senior class will be together to have a meal before graduating. “This year at prom, dinner will be a garden salad, chicken broccoli alfredo, pasta primavera, roast sirloin, seasonal veggies, mashed potatoes, and a brownie sundae,” said senior Micheala Sherlock. “There are going to be plenty of options for people with different dietary restrictions… gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian. There will be options for everyone, good options as well.”

Senior Prom 2022 is the first time since 2019 that seniors will get a prom run by the school. Prom last year was run by the loving parents of Andover for the Class of 2021.

Jordan said that the “biggest difference I know is that [the students] are not required to come here, take a school bus and all go together. People are excited about that because I know people are already booking party buses and limos… that will add a bit of a fun element to it.”

Senior Board Member Sophie Colby said, “I think prom will definitely go well, I think that people are really looking forward to an event like this because we haven’t had one at all; we didn’t have a semi—nothing like that—so we are very excited.”

“People are definitely opinionated about the prom court, which is good because we want to hear from our class,” concluded Colby. To vote for Prom Court, a Google Form will be sent out by the Senior Board Advisors. To stay updated with prom and other senior activities, you can follow the @AHS2022class Instagram.

Prom is a memorable high school experience, and this year’s prom will be a great way to end a year filled with setbacks such as COVID. The Class of 2022 deserves this prom, and the objective is to “have fun!” said Senior Board Advisor Sylvia Danos.