7 Hills Lifers
By Charli Atkinson, Sarina Patel, Maya Ramprasad, and Mary Sellinger
The Seven Hills School– The Seven Hills School is made up of a community with a handful of students who have dedicated their education starting at kindergarten through their senior year of high school. These students are considered lifers at Seven Hills.
Through interviews, students and teachers shared their experiences at Seven Hills and how the community shaped them.
Jack Snyder is an 8th-grade student who has been a part of the Seven Hills community since he was 2 years old at one of the two campuses, Lotspeich. When asked about his favorite memories from middle and elementary school Jack said “The big open space for the playground at recess where we could go.” As for middle school, Jack mentions freedom. “You don’t have a designated place or group of people to walk with.” Both elementary and middle have impacts on students and the memories that stay with them. Seven Hills makes an impact on students, for Jack it was the help available to him. Through his interview, he mentions the resources available to him and how it has shaped him as a student. While there is the support, teachers, and the community surrounding students there is also sports. Sports, to Jack, is playing baseball and connecting Jack to friends along with building new friendships. Academically Jack puts it as “They definitely push you but in the long run, it’s beneficial and teachers will always be there to help and friends as well.” The Seven Hills community which Jack describes as “flexible and fun” has always had a reasonably small class size. To Jack, this means “being able to interact with the same few people and figuring out who you want to spend your time with.” In all, staying at Seven Hills has made Jack a better student and he has felt like he’s always supported through his education.
Aly Trevino started her time at Seven Hills about halfway through her kindergarten year. For elementary school Aly attended Lotspeich and while at Seven Hills it has left her with many memories. Aly’s favorite memory of her lower school years was show and tell. Aly says “It was just so fun to see what everyone brought and show what you brought.” Aly’s best memories of middle school are the overnight trips. “The overnight trips are very fun,” said Aly. She also enjoys middle school athletics. Both elementary and middle school have shaped who Aly is today. Before coming to Seven Hills Aly said that she used to be lazy and not excited about school. “Now I think I have more fun and it teaches me more work habits,” she says. Seven Hills has taught Aly better work habits that will help in the future along with many life skills she will use throughout her career. When asked about the community around her and how they help her, Aly says “People here are focused on their goals and to be surrounded by people with work ethic is inspiring to me.” She says that she likes the Seven Hills teachers because they are always available to see if you need help and they care more about you rather than you rather than your grades. With Aly playing 3 sports for the school she mentions that it helped her build stronger friendships. Aly says that going to school with the same people for so long means that she has some good friends that she feels will last a long time. She says that Seven Hills is challenging but “it isn’t too challenging, I feel like they have a good AB schedule.” Aly describes the Seven Hills community as “cultivation, inspiration, and motivation.” If Aly chose where she wanted to go to school again she would choose Seven Hills because “they have a really good support system.”
The Seven Hills currently offers schooling at two campuses for lower school, Doherty and Lotspiech, Abe Adams spent his time at Doherty. He was in Beginnings, which was a daycare before Pre-K. When asked about his favorite memory Abe says his favorite was the Doherty Carnivals. This was an end-of-year carnival to celebrate a great year of education and to celebrate soon-to-come summer. In middle school, he says he appreciates the study halls, so he can do his homework at school. When asked about the challenge at Seven Hills he says “It’s pretty light.” To some, the schoolwork can be overwhelming, but to Abe, he thinks it’s pretty easy. When asked about the school’s impact on him as a person he says “It’s made me who I am.” While being at Seven Hills for his whole life in other words, being a lifer Abe makes his view on Seven Hills clear. “Yes, I would go to Seven Hills again” Seven Hills has shaped the kids to follow their seven values to make them the best students and peers they can be.
After going to Seven Hills her whole life, Mrs. Hayes is now a seventh-grade English teacher at Seven Hills. Started in preschool and went on until she was a senior. She went to Doherty and feels very sad about it closing. “I know the best parts of the school will be able to move over to this campus, but I’m sad the Doherty campus won’t be there to remind me of my childhood,” She says her favorite memory of many is a tradition from when she was going to Seven Hills. “There would be all kinds of performers and art activities.” When asked about the differences in the school from when she was attending to now, Mrs.Hayes mentions class sizes and being able to engage with her classmates growing up. “Grades were smaller, classes were smaller, you knew everyone really well.” Her favorite thing about school was, “getting to know people from different cultures or whether it is different points of views.” While Seven Hills is a challenge to most students she thinks that the challenges were good for her. Mrs. Hayes says she still has friendships from preschool. After she graduated, she went to Brown as well as Stanford, which is when she discovered what she wanted to do with her career. Seven Hills’ care shaped her aspiration to be a teacher.
The students who have dedicated their education and time to Seven Hills are lifers at the school. Being a lifer at Seven Hills means being in a community full of support, helping you grow as a student and a person. Lifers make Seven Hills what it is today helping the people and community grow.