It’s bittersweet that the seniors have left. We’re happy they get to move on, but those of us with senior friends will miss them very much. We asked some of the seniors to give some advice to the underclassmen. Here’s what they had to say:

ELIJAH NUEBEL: 

Here’s some advice I’d give based on the things that worked/didn’t work for me in high school (mainly academic). First is to not stress yourself out over high school or college plans. I see a lot of people take more college-level classes than they can handle, struggling with sleep, grades, and mental health. I always tried to balance my schedule with being both rigorous and manageable. The transition from easier classes in 9th to essentially all college classes in 10th grade was very difficult, so I decided not to take any dual enrollment classes in 11th, and I still ended up okay. Here’s my PSA: trying to get into UF or other top schools and the top ten isn’t worth making your high school experience suck, even as hypocritical as it may sound. Focus more on extracurriculars that you can have fun in and help your college applications. My second piece of advice would be to lock in with testing. If you get your desired test score before senior year, it makes everything so much less stressful with college applications and whatnot. I spent about two months studying for the SAT with free resources and practice tests and got a good enough score to only take it once, and could focus on other things come fall. My third piece of advice would be about college preparation. First, plan for the costs of applying to college and only apply to schools you could reasonably afford if you get accepted. Start thinking about your common app essay sometime in the summer before senior year. Don’t do what I did and procrastinate on asking for letters of recommendation, and also don’t start writing your supplemental essays the week your applications are due, that probably didn’t do me any favors. The big thing is to enjoy your senior year. The second semester has gone by so fast and before you know it, you’re gonna be done with high school, so live in the moment as much as you can.

NATHAN MITCHELL: 

My biggest piece of advice for underclassmen is to get out there and do things. Four years might seem like a long time but trust me it goes by super quickly. So take the classes that interest you, go to the clubs that seem like fun, and try out for the sports teams, chorus, band, or even all three. The best decision I ever made was to take AP Art History in my junior year because it seemed like it would be cool, and now I plan on pursuing my degree in that field. You never know what decision during these 4 years could change the course of your life, and so I think you should go for it. I also want to say thank you to all the educators who have gotten me to where I am today. I wasn’t always the perfect student (I’m still not) but I’ve grown and evolved so much from the person I was when I first started High school. I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet so many amazing role models and educators, people like Mrs. Langford, Mrs. Brennan, Mrs. and Mr. Houvouras, Mr. Mellon, Mrs. Gordon, Mr. Ramos, Mrs. Brown, and so many more. All of these people helped me become who I am today. There is one person in particular that I have to give special thanks to, and that is Mrs. Willard. I don’t know what she saw in me when I first met her, but over the course of my two years working in the media center she changed my life. She helped me through some of my lowest moments and celebrated my greatest achievements. She’s the type of person that I aspire to be for someone else when I’m older, and so I can’t thank her enough. Thank you to all the people who have helped me get to where I am today.

GIAHNIE GERMAIN:

My name is Giahnie Germain, my advice to younger students is to not be afraid to put yourself out there, run for Hoco court, go to the games, try out for something at least once, and join an honor society. You’ll see the benefits from the amount of friends you make. When it comes to academics, always do a little more than you feel like doing. Do your best when you apply yourself to school. There will always be a bigger fish. You don’t have to be the biggest but also don’t let yourself be the smallest. Looking back to the things I did in high school I am happy that I made good choices. I feel confident that I’m graduating with the GPA I have and with the extracurriculars I did. Another thing is it’s important to do what you have to do as soon as possible. If you failed a graduation requirement do something about it soon because there are seniors now who most likely won’t graduate. Some are scrambling to get their grades in order, cramming online classes during the last few weeks of school. On the topic of making good choices, it is imperative that you choose the right people to hang around. Personally, I think taking AP classes grants you access to some of the smartest and most interesting people. It makes you want to work harder for yourself. Everyday life only gets harder so I don’t think taking AP classes makes school any harder than it already will be if it’s not your thing, at least take Honors. Leaving high school is bittersweet. I will miss seeing all my friends every day or experiencing things you would only experience in high school. However, I am ready to start my future and work on who I will become as an adult.

ANJANI WORRELL:

One piece of advice I would give to the underclassmen is to make sure that you thoroughly organize the classes you would want to take for the 4 years at Apopka High. Try to get the majority of your credits done within the first 3 years of high school. This is because there are plenty of fun events that happen during senior year and you wouldn’t want to stress about missing credits during your senior year. Plus, you would be adding more to your plate since you would already be stressing about what colleges you want to apply to, getting SAT/ACT scores, and filling out important documents such as your FAFSA. Another piece of advice I would give is to take advantage of the Dual Enrollment programs provided, whether it’s at Valencia, UF, UCF, or Seminole State. It’s such a cool opportunity to be able to take college classes along with high school classes. You get a sneak peak of what college life could look like and you’ll get a degree along with your high school diploma. Best part is that you’d be decreasing the number of classes you would need to take since DE classes also count for high school credit. It’s been an interesting 4 years, going from following social distancing precautions to being able to hug my friends on our last day of high school. I would like to say goodbye to my fellow graduating classmates. I can’t wait to see what they all accomplish and I wish them all well. My plans after high school include attending the University of South Florida as a biology major on the pre-med track and eventually attending medical school to become a medical oncologist.

DERICK PHAN:

Looking back at my high school career, I realized that I missed out on a lot of opportunities that really could’ve helped me. My first piece of advice is to not be intimidated by Honors and AP Classes. When I was an underclassman, I was really scared of AP Classes and was always anxious about those classes. However, as a senior, I’ve learned that despite how hard those classes may have seemed, they were really rewarding. I would also recommend taking Dual Enrollment classes since they’re a great way of getting college credit and saving money later on. My next piece of advice is to not stress over things you can’t control at that moment. When I was in class, I’d be so worried about future assignments and exams that I’d lose focus during lectures and would neglect other parts of my life. While those assignments and exams were still stressful, that piece of advice allowed me to become more efficient as a student. My final piece of advice is to just enjoy high school. While at times, it may be stressful, you never realize just how great everything was until you’re about to graduate and are ready to leave the past four years behind to move on to the next chapter of your life.

JAYNEE PHELPS:

Moving on to the next stage in life is a little scary, admittedly. As much as I’m ready to move on, I’m definitely gonna miss this place! I’ve had so much fun and so many great experiences over the years, and there have been so many great teachers who have encouraged me and guided me. I’m gonna miss Mr. Russell, Mr. Sensiper, Mr. Mellon, Mrs. Gardiner, Miss Ramirez, Mr. Conti, Mrs. Shafer and Mr. Langford a whole heck of a lot! And to the underclassmen… while school is about learning, it’s also about having fun and learning who you are. Never let anyone tell you who you should be. Wear what you want, do what you want! Never be afraid to shoot for the stars!!!

This is Jaynee, signing out Blue Darters!

FELIX MERCADO URIBE:

 If you’re passionate about something, or just feel like doing or changing something, go at it. At Apopka High School there are many clubs that will help you on the path to it, whether it’s finding and honing your voice, playing an instrument, or just making friends and fostering connections with other people. But, why stop at clubs? If you just go out and act upon what your gut says you should do for the better, whether its keeping the city clean or giving a better performance on the announcements, not only will you do your community a good service, but you will do it with a passion that turns to a love of doing it, which then translates into care and dedication to the act, which could ultimately translate into you making a better you, you making a name for yourself, and you becoming an inspiration for others to see and look up to; something that, trust me, you’ll never not want to take for granted with all your heart and soul. Follow your gut, your passion, and find a way to exercise it – it may not necessarily lead you to a future career as passion would imply, but it could be that thing that’ll lead to not only your most memorable times in high school, but also your most memorable life lessons, experiences, friends, etc., that’ll ultimately pave the way to whatever career you’ll eventually find yourself in in the future. That’s it from me, Felix out!

SIMON RODRIGUEZ: 

I’ve enjoyed the time I spent in high school even though I never did any clubs or extracurriculars. It has been fun meeting new people and making new friends. When I first started high school, I thought it was going to be boring and I only had the intention to show up, do my class work, get good grades, and leave. But as time went on, I made more friends and started to do more activities during school and outside of it and I enjoyed my time here more. My advice to people at this school is to try new things like joining clubs and doing extracurriculars at school and to try to enjoy it as much as possible as I can speak from  experience since I was too nervous to try and join any clubs or do any other events the school is hosting and I regret not going to any of the events or joining any clubs. My last piece of advice for people would be if you are planning to attend university to try and have a plan for community service and work hours and to try your best on AICE exams since you can get Bright Futures that way now.

The Blue & White is wishing all of the seniors a wonderful and successful life! We’ll miss you guys!