With less than one month to go before graduation, many seniors are reminiscing about their time at Choate. For some, the high school experience has been just as expected, with sufficient time to hang out with friends, make memories in the dorm, and, of course, log all those countless hours hitting the books.
However, many sixth formers have revealed concerns that they have not yet fulfilled what they had hoped to attain from high school. For those students, the “Senior Bucket List” rapidly grows longer just as Commencement inches closer.
“For most of my Choate career, I’ve devoted a lot of time and effort to my classes and extracurriculars,” said Vincenzo DiNatale ’19. “I didn’t really have a lot of time for other things or to spend a ton of time with friends. So, it’s really important to me that I make time for those things this term.”
Similarly, Erica Chang ’19 hopes to reconnect with classmates that she has drifted apart from because of the busy nature of life at Choate. “We didn’t stop talking because of drama, but because we were all in our separate worlds doing homework, sports, and college applications,” she explained. “I want to make the most out of my time at Choate by spending time with my friends before they go to another school hundreds of miles away from me.”
As for Abigail Chang ’19, senior spring is allowing her to further connect with a favorite hobby — reading. “My goal for the spring is to read at least one book a week. So far I’ve done it!” Since the beginning of the spring term, she has read The Goldfinch, The Picture of Dorian Gray, A Ladder to the Sky, and Of Mice and Men.
Many senior bucket lists include meeting goals both on and off campus. DiNatale explained, “I’m trying to train for a half marathon. I’ve noticed that a lot of my friends are doing the same. But whether they’re trying to
write an article for the News or to play Ultimate frisbee, I think people are really aiming to make the most of their final weeks of high school.”
And while seniors have accomplished a lot in their time at Choate, like Kitan Ayeni ’19, who shared that she made “the front page of the News twice!” there are some seniors who still feel like they’re running out of time to tick everything off the list.
Samantha Stevenson ’19 has a full-fledged list of activities she wants to complete, which includes, in her words, “getting a palm reading in town, sitting down at random sports guys’ table in the dining hall, getting detention (and in detention, wearing leather pants and jacket — hood up, headphones in, feet up), and learning how to cartwheel.”
Before she graduates, Abby Rivas ’19 hopes to explore the rumored tunnels that are said to run underneath campus connecting Squire Stanley to Memorial House and the Humanities Building to the Health Center.
That desire to explore and seek adventure currently runs deep in the senior class. Kamsi Iloeje ’19 said, “I really want to go on the roof of the PMAC and have a picnic. I think it would be a great view of campus. I’m not even sure who could make that happen or if it’s possible, but I really want to do it before I graduate.”
Sasha Bocek ’19 hopes to further explore landmarks around campus before she leaves. “In my three years at Choate, I’ve never been to the waterfall near the turf. I just never got around to it, and I feel like it’s something everyone does by the time they graduate.”
Whether seniors are looking to spend more time with their friends or actively looking to get detention, they are starting to feel the adrenaline and nostalgia at the end of their Choate careers. Many of the tasks that seniors want to complete are some that they can do only while they are still students — a perfect culmination to their senior year.
