This is a continuation of our Meet Meridian series focusing on our students. Welcome to high school!
Arushi, senior at Meridian High School
“I think my favorite part of Meridian is how small it is and how it’s a tight knit community. I came from another high school and it’s giant there. You would walk down the hallways and you would see a new face every time. Here, all the grade levels know each other. It gives me a sense of belonging. I also love how a lot of the teachers actually went through high school here. They share their experiences and they talk about how it’s evolved. It’s great here.
Having Mrs. Ames for AP Bio was honestly inspiring because she’s just so smart. She’s such a smart woman in STEM and I’m like, wow, I want to be like her. I think that’s why I enjoyed AP Biology so much with her. The way she taught was very effective and made learning fun and interesting.
I cheered this year and I also dance. I also do volunteer work. I volunteered at the food bank, and I tutor kids. I can also interpret Punjabi and Hindi. I’m Indian and we mainly speak Punjabi at home. It is very similar to Hindi.
I’ve known for a long time that I want to go into medicine. I just didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but through the career search process class that I take at the college, I found out that I really like the physician assistant profession. So that’s what I’m hoping to be, but I’m not completely sure.
Medicine is always evolving; you’re always learning something new. I like that. I like to keep learning. I like learning about the human body and how it works, like how are we living? How are we breathing? I just want to know as much as I can about myself so I can keep myself and my loved ones healthy.”
Henry, freshman at Meridian High School
“High school has been different than what I expected. I’d say to incoming freshmen, to not be worried. All the teachers are super nice and you’ll get used to the schedule.
There’s a lot of options for electives and high school is really fun overall. Don’t judge a book by its cover because sometimes things can look really, really hard, but then when you eventually have to try and do those things, they’re actually pretty easy.
I’ve never had so many options for classes before. So when I was registering, I thought ‘what do I choose first? What should I choose next?’ Welding was my first option and I chose it. After four weeks of testing, it’s really fun to work with very hot metal. It’s very fun to be doing stuff on your own, like really hard work, but it becomes pretty easy after a little bit. I want to pursue things like mechanics or robotics maybe and I think welding is preparing me for CTE programs and things like that in the future.
All of the classes are pretty chill and their rules are pretty simple. Some classes are different, some classes are the same. It’s kind of really relaxing to be at the school because sometimes if things get really stressful the teachers can step in and help you.”
Anastasiia, senior at Meridian High School
“I moved here two years ago from a small city on the bottom of Ukraine called Voznesens’k. My English was pretty good because I studied it in school. I had some private lessons with teachers and YouTube videos also helped.
The educational system is really different. Like, in America here, I did ceramics when I first moved and that was new to me. There are definitely more things to do and that I would like to try but I don’t have the time with the classes that I have to take right now.
I think the teachers here are really helpful. The person who really helped me when I moved here was Mrs. Shumway. She taught me English, she explained a lot of things and was really nice to me. I like when I know teachers care about me. They ask questions like how I am doing and how my golf match went.
The students are really good too. When I first came to the school, they would talk to me and give me compliments. At first I was like, ‘Why? Ok, thank you.’ I was not used to it, it is not like that in Ukraine. But I got used to it and it is nice. Like you’re just walking and people are smiling at you, and start talking to you. Why not? It’s nice.
I like being on the golf team. I have friends on the team and the coaches are really great and fun. It is something brand new for me. I didn’t know how to play, I was like, ‘you’re supposed to hit the ball one time and it should go in the hole, after one hit?’ They said, no, no, no and explained the rules. I like the girls on the team. We show up to practice every day. We support each other.
After high school I want to go into vet science. I have two dogs and two cats. I like science, chemistry and biology, which is why I am going to learn about animals in college. I am looking at going to a community college first and then transferring to a university.
My advice to freshmen is to join different clubs and activities where you can find people with similar interests and hobbies.”
Tyrel, senior at Meridian High School
“Something I learned in high school is to not procrastinate. Because a lot of classes you can’t procrastinate in, especially like last year taking pre-calculus. The teacher was lenient about when you turn in your homework, but if you waited to do all of your homework, then you’re struggling on tests and then your grade was low, so you can’t procrastinate. You have to get the work in.
The staff here are awesome. I don’t have favorite subjects, just favorite teachers. Especially right now, I love all my teachers. Currently, my favorite is probably US law, which is taught by Mr. Lawrence and he’s just the coolest guy ever. That’s why I really enjoy that class. I’m taking AP Lit right now, which I don’t really care for English, but I love Mr. Hutchinson, so that’s why I chose to take it. It’s super fun with him.
One class that stands out to me is homeroom class because Mr. Wiley is my teacher. He’s been my homeroom teacher since my sophomore year during COVID. So I met him on Zoom. He made Zoom fun. I was tired and didn’t want to work, but he would make it entertaining. Anything with Mr. Wiley was the best. He’s just the nicest guy ever, and always so fun. He really cares about his students. It’s not just a job for him, he enjoys being here. He gets to know his students.
Over the summer I worked at Lynden Ice. I worked with a ton of machines and I enjoyed doing that. So I’ve been looking for a career in the trades. After high school, I am planning to get into HVAC. There is a company in town that has a program, where they will pay me on the job and send me to classes.”