Even though my house is only 15 minutes away from Taft, coming to school every day is like going home. Tafties—both students and faculty—have become my second family. When I go home at eight o’clock each night, I actually feel “school sick”—I cannot wait to get back to Taft. Fitting in as a day student is never a problem, and I have friends and classmates from all over the world.

Because academics have always been my main priority, I was terrified that I would not fit in at Taft, where students are academic, but also athletic and artistic. I found that the beauty of Taft is that all aspects of school life—athletics, the arts, and academics—are embraced and intertwined.

Some of my best memories are cheering on my friends at volleyball games, creating a video project about our daily routines with my best friend for Spanish class, playing Kahoot in my biology class as a learning tool, group studying for final exams by the pond, and bonding with my classmates when we have dinner outside on the Jig patio. I thought that academics would always be my main focus, but Taft helped me to realize that I am good at robotics, and that I enjoy public speaking and putting together videos because they are fun. And that even though I don’t like to play sports, I do like to watch games, and be a part of a vibrant community.

I didn’t know who or what I wanted to be when I came to Taft, but that was okay. The experiences I’ve had with my Taft family have helped shape me into the person I was always meant to be.