The 2021 graduating class will shortly begin packing their bags for college. The Woodgrove Outlander chronicles their final insight on the high school experiences to offer guidance to the grades below. 

Julia Murray-Senior

If you were the principal and found yourself in charge of us, what would be the first thing you do? Figure out some sort of lunch buddy system so that each student has at least one friend they enjoy having lunch with in their lunch shift.

If you had to be one teacher in our school, who would you be and why? Mrs. Valasek because she is an adorable mom, teacher, is the head of SCA, and I have really enjoyed working with her.

What’s the best advice you would give to the incoming freshman? Get involved off the bat; you will find clubs and activities later in your Woodgrove career that you will wish you did from day one.

Kristina Ayers-Senior 

If you were the principal and found yourself in charge of us, what would be the first thing you do?  If I were principal, I’d honestly take a similar approach to Mr. Shipp in that I think the most predominant need of students (especially seniors) in the COVID world is emotional support and boosting morale. This year has presented a lot of reasons to mourn, and while the loss of our senior year is not nearly as bad as feeling the direct or indirect damage of COVID, it was supposed to be the culmination of our K-12 experience and we didn’t get closure to this chapter of our lives. In that respect, I’m really grateful to our administration for making an in-person graduation happen.

If you had to be one teacher in our school, who would you be and why?  I’d definitely be Ms. Sim. She’s been a really close mentor to me in high school and she’s simply iconic. I think making students who aren’t interested in classic literature enjoy it takes a special talent, and that’s one of the many reasons she’s fantastic at her job.

What’s the best advice you would give to the incoming freshman?  Time management. Your schedule is only as flexible as you make it, so being disciplined and following a game plan is the best thing you can do for yourself to be successful in high school and beyond. 

Gabe Rodriguez- Senior  

If you were the principal and found yourself in charge of us, what would be the first thing you do? Longer lunch shifts and one hour classes.

If you had to be one teacher in our school, who would you be and why?  Mrs. Pyle because she’s always looking out for people, and is such a great person to be around.

What’s the best advice you would give to the incoming freshman? The best advice I would give to the freshman is to take in every moment of their four years at Woodgrove because it goes by quickly. 

Kolbee Wisniewski-Senior

If you were the principal and found yourself in charge of us, what would be the first thing you do?  First thing I’d do: coffee shop in the concession stand in the morning.

If you had to be one teacher in our school, who would you be and why?  I want to be Mrs. Sowers because I love her and just want a day in her life.

What’s the best advice you would give to the incoming freshman? Join as many clubs as you can because you meet so many people and it helps to figure out what you want to do as a career.

Charlotte Fortunato-Senior 

If you were the principal and found yourself in charge of us, what would be the first thing you do?  Put soda in all the water fountains at school and get rid of the dress code.

If you had to be one teacher in our school, who would you be and why?  Mr. Demark or Mr. Grove from the Art department because it’s the chillest zone in the whole school with the most fun environment.

What’s the best advice you would give to the incoming freshman? Taco day is great, but it hurts your tummy.

Braxton Raughton-Senior 

If you were the principal and found yourself in charge of us, what would be the first thing you do?  If I were the principal in our current situation I would make sure to focus on the school’s needs as a whole but also really make sure to focus on seniors as we finish our last two months before adulthood, so we can get a somewhat normal high school experience. 

If you had to be one teacher in our school, who would you be and why?  If I were to be one teacher, I would be Mr. Jose. Mr. Jose was one of the few teachers at Woodgrove that I felt I could connect with on a different level rather than just a student teacher. He has helped me through quite a few situations in school and has also taught me most of what I know about the trades. 

What’s the best advice you would give to the incoming freshman? The best advice I would give to a freshman would definitely be make sure you find your balance of school and fun. I took a way more laid back approach at high school and I somewhat regret it, but I also had some great times.

Pierce Kimbrough-Senior 

If you were the principal and found yourself in charge of us, what would be the first thing you do?  I would make it mac and cheese day, every day!!

If you had to be one teacher in our school, who would you be and why? If I were any teacher, I would be Ms. Sim so I could know what’s going on in her head.

What’s the best advice you would give to the incoming freshman? There is always a quizlet with the answers you are looking for.

Micheal Thomas-Senior 

If you were the principal and found yourself in charge of us, what would be the first thing you do?  If I were the principal the first thing I would do is incorporate fast food chains into our cafeteria. I’ve seen other high schools with Chick-fil-a and Subway, so I think that would be very popular at Woodgrove. 

If you had to be one teacher in our school, who would you be and why? I would be Mrs. Sowers so I could go back and give myself an A on all of those calculus tests I struggled with. 

What’s the best advice you would give to the incoming freshman? Start working hard from the second you begin high school. I got ahead in my classes and high school has slowly gotten easier as the years went on because I wasn’t stressing about getting my GPA up.