Celebrating the Class of 2025

As the academic year comes to a close, our seniors are reflecting on and synthesizing their experiences at Emerson Waldorf. What follows are excerpts of conversations that they generously agreed to have with me. We touched on ways that this community has shaped them, how they would like to be remembered, what they take with them, and what excites them about the path ahead. 

This article features the reflections from the Emerson Waldorf High School Seniors Class of 2025. Alex joined EWS in the tenth grade, Naina has been at the school since the fifth grade, Graeme arrived in the tenth grade, Sebastian started in the sixth grade, and Lulu joined the community in the third grade. Zamaria joined EWS in the ninth grade, Eve has been at the school since nursery, Nico arrived in the middle of the fourth grade, and Anea started in kindergarten. 

Favorite memories:

When we talked about memories, this group of students recalled moments that grounded them in the community. Alex reflected that what stood out from almost the beginning of the first year here was the experience of being welcomed; of what it felt like to find a place where you fit, perhaps better than anywhere else. Naina noted that her favorite years at EWS were her high school years, and she especially loved when the class sang with Mr. Dicker when traveling on school trips. Graeme loved having teachers who were so accessible and willing to answer questions, engage in discussions, and allow conversations to go in interesting directions outside of class. Sebastian’s favorite memories were of school camping trips. He had never gone camping before joining EWS, and he remembered those experiences as the context in which connections and friendships were made and cemented. Lulu recalled that before she started at EWS in the third grade, she had the opportunity to visit, and her visit coincided with the May Day celebrations. She recalled how welcome she felt, how she chose the biggest flower for her first flower crown, and how excited she was knowing that she would be a part of the community.

Students also talked about how vital festivals, rituals, and traditions were to their experience at EWS. Zamaria pointed to May Day as an illustration of how close-knit and strong the community is. Anea noted that she and Eve have danced around the Maypole together for 13 years and how powerful it was to share that experience one more time this year. The Michaelmas Festival, also known as the Festival of Courage, was recalled for its drama, perhaps especially the year when the dragon spat real fire! - and the impact of the spiral of light as winter days got shorter. Nico offered that these events, in addition to drawing the community together in a literal way, also functioned to focus everyone in the moment and allowed the distractions of day-to-day life to fall away. Eve recalled the power of singing songs that connect you to a people and a place, year after year.

How have you been shaped by this community, and what will you take with you?

Alex: Emerson has made me a more confident person and more able to be myself. It has been a safe and comfortable environment. I am proud of the work that I have done here. I was especially proud of my Junior Internship experience which allowed me to work and shadow in a pharmacy. I learned about medication management, the administrative side of the business, and customer service. It was important to me, in part, because I know how hard it is to get access to those spaces as a high school student.

Naina: I was always shy, especially in my middle school years. I never talked in those early years. In high school I was able to open up and participate differently. High school felt like a safe environment. I got good at things I was never good at before. In middle school, I struggled with art assignments. I only drew stick figures. In high school I started getting good at art. There was so much variety and I would explore new things. I found that it is even good to do the things that you don’t like because you can still get better and you can see what you’re learning. This is a place that focuses on each person and teaches them in a way that makes sense to that person. That’s so important and it doesn’t happen everywhere. 

Graeme: Emerson taught me how to exist in a group of people. When I got here, this was the most people I had ever been around (between being homeschooled and the impact of Covid). I have learned that I love being around people. I am also really proud of the work that I have produced here, especially in history and science classes. I learned how to do good research - something that I enjoy - using new tools that made me more efficient, more succinct, and more confident in my writing. 

Sebastian: I have become more aware of other people. With our small classes, you see what everyone is going through; that we are all different people with different needs. This has given me a better understanding of others. And I’ve also learned skills here that I would not have learned anywhere else. You learn differently here. You learn more because they teach for what every student needs. I’m proud of my grades, my main lesson books, my art, and my Senior Project. 

Lulu: the way that the school teaches taught me how to look at everything differently. We look at the big picture and we also look at every section that makes up that picture. That gives us a deeper understanding of what we are learning. I have more patience now with subjects that I wouldn’t have been interested in before. And my class has worked hard to accomplish things that usually require more people, but we did them even though we were a small class and I’m proud of us for that. 

Zamaria: Emerson has made me a better person, a better artist. As a person, I’ve gotten to know myself, and EWS forced me to dig deep within. It challenged me and my limits, and I found myself and my priorities. As an artist, I had the opportunity to include and integrate art into everything I did. Art was not limited to elective classes like it would have been at other schools. I am proud of my learning in this environment and to be graduating!

Eve: In what way has it not shaped me? It’s allowed me to feel accepted, have my own opinions, my own way of seeing (not just what we were taught to see). Waldorf has a vibrant culture and practice that allows us to take what we learn, sit and digest it, and then demonstrate and illustrate our learning and knowledge in ways unique to us and our understanding. 

Nico: Waldorf puts a big emphasis on interconnectedness. Math is tied to drawing. Our handwork supported our math and language development. Interconnectedness stuck with me - how different things affect each other and create a fuller, more accurate view of the world. I’m proud of the work that I’ve done here because the school gives us space to do our work the way that we want to do it. (I’ve gotten to) make music my biggest passion, create a lesson book for Biology using metaphor and simile, connect my Scouting and EWS communities, and reimagine our morning verse as a poem that captures my own experience. 

Anea: I have enjoyed the integrated subjects and the opportunity to explore the context of the lessons in whatever way I wanted. It showed me new ways of working; how there is a range of ways you can work in the world. It will make me a more interesting student going forward and made me interested in film as an art that brings together other art forms and different kinds of people. I’ve become aware later in my high school career how many opportunities I’ve had to practice what I’ve been learning, how that helps me process what I’ve learned, and imagine what else might be possible.

What comes next? 

Alex will take a gap year after graduation that will focus on service and community engagement in Chicago. Alex is excited for the opportunity to explore a new city and cultivate a new community. Following the gap year, Alex expects to return to NC and enroll at UNC-Chapel Hill to pursue interests in neuroscience and medicine.

Naina will be joining NOLS India (National Outdoor Leadership School) for three months of outdoor leadership development, backpacking, and environmental studies in Northern India and Nepal. She looks forward to being in a new environment, meeting new people, and gaining confidence and independence for what comes next. 

Graeme will attend UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall and looks forward to designing his own educational path. As someone with a lot of interests, he is excited to be going to college “undecided” with the freedom to explore everything from business and entrepreneurship to becoming a published author sometime in the future. 

Sebastian will enter the architecture program at NC State this fall. He is excited to be starting something new and learning different ways of doing things. He would like to be remembered as someone who did and made things for others to enjoy, and will take that commitment into his new course of study. 

Lulu will attend Southern Maine Community College to complete the EMS program. She is excited to see what this experience opens up for her, noting that it represents a step in a new direction, toward new interests and possibilities that she is just starting to imagine for herself.

Zamaria will attend Maine College of Art and Design this fall. She is most excited about the prospect of getting to do art full-time and aspires to a career as a tattoo artist. She looks forward to meeting great people, learning more about herself and who she is becoming, and seeing where all the discovery takes her. 

Eve has chosen Bryn Mawr College for her next step and looks forward to finding and nurturing a new community there. When we talked about hopes for the future, Eve emphasized a desire to affect her own generation by fostering community, and encouraging peers to share their thoughts and feelings more openly and to live more transparently. She wants to be remembered as someone who is a constant, loyal, and trustworthy friend.

Nico will attend Earlham College in the fall and is considering a major in Biology. She has her sights set on a PhD eventually. Nico reflected on the excitement that comes with so much change; the opportunity to experience new things. She noted that when she projects herself into the future, she hopes that she ends up doing what she loves, that she will have good stories to tell along the way, and that when she looks back on her life, she will be able to say that she did it well. 

Anea plans to take a gap year and will spend that time developing her art portfolio and making connections in the film industry with the goal of going to film school. She looks forward to intentionally focusing on her art, cultivating her own self-assurance, and equipping herself for the future that she is designing.  

-- Interviews conducted by Ami Hernandez, High School College Counselor.