HOFFMAN

He never rowed before high school but participated in a wide variety of sports. One day during his freshman year, his mom asked him if he wanted to try something new, he accepted and immediately became fascinated with the sport. Sports that he had previously played were not challenging enough, but rowing was. Even as a senior now, he is still learning new things and perfecting the technique e sloshing sounds of water moving, the heavy wind blowing past his face, the screaming of the coxswain in front of you. is was Nate’s rst race. is 5,000-meter race was a long, tiring race. Pushing himself past the limits, overcoming every obstacle. Finally, hearing the beep that signals that he had crossed the nish line. He looked around and realized that his boat had won. is feeling of relief and the rush of excitement, knowing that all of your hard work was worth it. Winning this medal meant so much to Nate, it paved the path for the rest of his rowing career. “It showed me that I had a place on the team, it helped build my con dence is race established his friendships with the fellow novices, that and ability to row.” a and of He come. this

He was in a double, a boat for two people, and was paired with a new person. While rowing, his boat started to tip, they lost control and it ipped. Nate tried to swim to the top but realized his feet were still strapped into the boat. He couldn’t nd the tie, he waved his hands around trying to feel for it but worry was nally found it, pulled the strap with urgency, and got up to the surface safely.

Now that he is graduating soon, he says that he is sure sad about having to leave the team, but he is excited to start his new journey rowing in college. He is eager to receive his oar during the end-of-the-year banquet. Every senior is awarded an oar that is wrapped with gold, silver, and bronze tape to symbolize every medal they’ve earned. He expressed that it feels like the closing of a circle and symbolization of his commitment to rowing over the years. Rowing is an immense commitment with early practices on Saturdays and late practices 5 days a week, on top of the constant pressures of IB. He said it was very hard to get through, but he is proud of how far he has come.

One thing he is going to take away from this experience is when the team’s strength coach, Coach Shawn, always pushed him to try harder and never give up. He would push himself to hit these goals that seemed unreachable before, but once he completed them, he felt ecstatic. He will carry these habits to college and for the rest of his life.

IB English teacher Linda Wilson has been at Hillsborough High School since the start of the program in 1991, and in her over 30 years here, she’s taught thousands of students, seen two school-wide renovations, and watched the school progress over the years.

Since she was young, Wilson always had a natural gi and passion for teaching and helping others. She taught her peers and people at church, and she helped old people learn how to read. “I could always imitate the teacher, even as a little kid. If I had a classmate that was struggling, a lot of times I could teach the classmate better than the teacher, I could always do that,” Wilson said. ere are many challenges that come with being a teacher, but the toughest for Wilson is getting the students to where they need to be without pushing them too much.

“You’re constantly trying to move them along without killing them. You don’t wanna hurt them a lot, just a little bit,” Wilson said, partially jokingly e COVID-19 pandemic made this issue even worse. She feels that the time that was taken away from school set students back and has made it harder for them to be where they need to be.

One of the best and most ful lling parts of the job for her is getting to see a student prepare themselves for adulthood. Many of her students have been very successful, and she feels what she teaches lays the foundation for that success. “You need to be able to read and write, and be able to study in order to do good in adulthood on a professional level,” Wilson said. Wilson says you can learn a lot from students, just from observing them. She notices what they wear, what they listen to, and what they say. Although she may be the one teaching the academics, she’s picked up a lot from students over the years.

As the rst IB English teacher in the entire district, she has overcome many challenges that have come up within her long career. Working with students every day, she is not just able to teach them traditional curriculum, but also prepare them to be successful a er high school.