GRATITUDE: A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

A reflection by McCallum Keats ‘22

Since last March, the experience of students and staff at Carolina Friends School has been quite unprecedented. The coronavirus pandemic has made much quick adaptation and change necessary. In a year of virtual learning, staff have risen to the occasion to make the transition as smooth, safe, effective, and manageable for students as possible. As an Upper School student at Carolina Friends during this time, I am very grateful for the Upper School staff and the support they have given students during virtual learning and the way they have shown courage through all of this uncertainty. Their dedication to teaching us every day through a computer screen, their open-mindedness and willingness to both hear students’ concerns and to change, and their kindness and understanding have made virtual learning far more manageable than it would be otherwise. I know that many Upper Schoolers share my gratitude towards staff and feel that they have shown a lot of courage in recent months, and a few have shared their feelings with me.

Reflecting on courage, junior Samantha Wilson calls to mind a time before the pandemic when a staff member helped her to be courageous. “A moment when a staff member helped me to be courageous is when my swim coach, Ruffin, got me to swim the 500. I didn’t think I could do it, but she always believed in me, which gave me the courage to try. In the end, it turned out great,” says Samantha. When asked how his definition of courage had shifted during the pandemic, junior Aidan Shimpi explained that he has realized that courage can come in different forms. “I think at first my standards were higher in terms of what it means to lift someone up, but now that we are in a global pandemic, we aren’t as socially connected anymore. My standards have gone down, but I feel like that has made me a better person, because I’m now able to see the little bits of encouragement from others,” says Aidan.

Aidan also wanted to express his gratitude for the school’s cleaning crew. “I’d like to thank the janitors of CFS because of their hard work cleaning up the school; I never had the courage myself to say thanks for what they did whenever I stayed late at school,” he says. Other students also wanted to thank particular members of the staff, including senior Zoe Brader-Araje, who says, “Abby Presson’s unconditional support has been so valuable to me during the pandemic. Whether it’s helping me with logistics, giving me a boost, or just having someone to confide in, I am beyond grateful. Thanks Abby!”

Finally, I personally would like to express gratitude for my advisor Dave Worden, who has helped me through this unprecedented time in so many ways. I would like to thank him for always being there for me, cheering me on, supporting me when things don’t go well, and for just always being willing to talk to me when I need it.

McCallum Keats is a current junior in the Upper School. She plans to be a teacher herself one day. She enjoys writing in various forms, and COVID-19 has given her time to write 98 pages of a novel and several original songs. She also enjoys running, and is a member of the Carolina Friends cross country and track teams.

McCallum Keats is a current junior in the Upper School. She plans to be a teacher herself one day. She enjoys writing in various forms, and COVID-19 has given her time to write 98 pages of a novel and several original songs. She also enjoys running, and is a member of the Carolina Friends cross country and track teams.