For many seniors, Seven Hills will represent only a portion of their educational journey, but for others, graduating will be the first time they are transitioning to a new place to start learning. Students who have gone to Seven Hills their whole lives are often referred to as “lifers” and have grown up as a part of the Seven Hills community. Seniors Alisha Chaudhary from Lotspeich and Calvin Armstrong from Doherty share what being a lifer truly means.
Looking back on elementary school, both students have very fond memories that they said helped shape who they are today. Chaudhary from Lotspeich said, “My favorite memory was a lot of the games we would make up when we had extra time.” These games helped bond different grades. Those hours left alone with no schedule allowed students who usually would not interact with one another to come closer together through fun activities. From Doherty, Armstrong spoke very highly of the Doherty Carnival, saying, “Especially during fourth and fifth grade, that was peak life.” These fun and lighthearted childhood memories help to show the special character of Seven Hills.
Both students appreciate their long history at Seven Hills, but that does not mean there were not a few struggles along the way. Chaudhary and Armstrong both spoke about the challenges that came up due to COVID in their sixth and seventh grade years, and then once that was over, they had to spend most of their eighth grade year in trailers. Armstrong explained that the trailers made learning more difficult and less enjoyable while Chaudhary explained that it felt frustrating for the same reasons and that she and the rest of her grade were not really able to enjoy the new building. Despite these experiences, both students explained that these shared struggles during middle school helped get rid of the divide between the two elementary schools.
Besides COVID and the trailers, the transition from elementary to middle school was a significant change in other ways. Chaudhary saw this change as more independence with the shift to having to keep track of their own homework and time management. However, she felt well prepared from her lower school getting her ready for the change. Armstrong spoke about the community aspect, focusing on both lower schools joining as one, and the class sizes nearly doubling from his elementary school. In middle school, students start to form new friend groups while merging with students from the other campus. Both of these students felt very well prepared for middle school due to the readiness from their elementary years.
Chaudhary and Armstrong agreed that the main thing that has come from being a life is being able to embody the Seven Hills core values. Having the same core values with them their entire lives made the rules feel “less institutional, but more personal” Chaudhary said. Armstrong then explained that being a lifer means carrying the values outside of the Seven Hills campus. He explained that he “will definitely not forget this place.” To these lifelong seniors, being a lifer shows how they have been affected throughout their lives.
The term lifer is broadly used to explain how long someone has been at Seven Hills, but it is deeper than that. Being a lifer means carrying the values that have surrounded you, with you, for your entire life. Being a lifer is embodying the Seven Hills ideas and always trying to make the best of a situation in order to persevere.
