Senior Fall as a New Senior
By CHERISH AMBY-OKOLO ‘24
Senior year is here. Whether it’s the prospect of 10 p.m. check-ins or meditations, senior year, especially fall term, comes with a lot of fast-moving parts. This can be especially difficult for a new senior, who has the Exeter experience of a prep but the workload of a senior.
However, this was already the expectation from the beginning. Coming in as a new senior means no pass/fail for that first term, no leniency, and the expectation to be able to juggle new courses, a new environment, and the dreaded college apps. Applying to college is at least one task new and returning students share.
But what’s different for us? I just had my first week of classes, but I feel like I’ve been on campus for months. Going to a former school without sports, I’m not used to the physical stamina required to navigate Exeter, especially with up to five classes a day and two hours of volleyball practice. It’s not all bad. With three to four sleep-ins a week, I enjoy waking up late and just casually strolling from Hoyt to my classes.
A block, C block, reserves? It’s still a confusing process, but OLS and Campus Commons have been my best friends. As for the classes themselves, I already internalized the Exeter workload, but experiencing it firsthand blew me away. I’m used to a two-day alternating block schedule, so to have classes with long assignments due the next day was a new concept. However, 10 p.m. check-in times have improved my time management. Studying at the library or in EPAC motivates me to be productive and as the clock approaches 10 p.m. and the hustle of Exonians subsides, my productivity rate skyrockets.
Even as a new senior, I’ve found it easy to make friends at Exeter: people in the classroom, people at volleyball practice, people in my dorm, and people at clubs. People are everywhere and these people turn into friends. While fall term as a new senior will have its share of fun and stress, I know I have a developing community of Exonians to lean on for support.
