THE HUNSCHER-YOUNG FORUM M.C.

Matthew Castilho

“I came into Community thinking it was going to be like a little hippie school, and I had no intention of coming here originally. From how they presented the school to my parents and me, it seemed like a very laid-back, chill school with no extracurriculars, no AP courses, and no actual difficult opportunities that would make me competitive on the college scene. However, when I actually started attending Community full-time and got into the nitty gritty — especially after COVID-19 — it was the complete opposite. This school is built to prepare you for college with a system of close relationships with teachers, being able to diversify and personalize your own curriculum, as well as teaching you to be responsible for yourself. It’s an environment that gives you the potential to experiment and thrive, while also keeping you in a safe environment where you can make mistakes and learn from them without much harm. I think this school really exceeded my expectations. I changed my entire mindset about what school can offer you. Now, it feels really good to be a senior. It feels liberating like all of this hard work paid off. It’s very liberating to finally know where I’m going: now that the stress is off of me, I’m trying to focus on giving back to the school a little bit. This school gave me so much that I want to give back.”

H.D.HAZEL DERRY

“It doesn’t feel like I’m a senior. I feel like there’s a level above us, but they’re just not here. It’s kind of surreal because I always remembered not even believing there’s a 12th grade, like that couldn’t be possible. That’s so many grades. And now I’m here, I’m like, oh, that was like a breeze. That was easy. Ish. I think I’ve changed a lot [since being a freshman]. I think I’m a little less anxious about how people view me. I’m way more prepared to be annoying without worrying about how other people see me. And I think that’s actually helped, being truly myself. And I’m just pretty honest and true to myself, which has changed from freshman year because all of it was a facade then. I didn’t know who I was, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. Now, I’m not completely sure, but I’m more sure. And I think I have good solid relationships. That was something I never dreamed would happen in middle school. So that’s been a really nice change.”