Some people may say that high school was the most irritating experience and feel like you’re living everyday life like your walking on thin ice
or legos but, some people have the best time of their lives in high school. High school is where you learn the most about life after high school and where
you experience the most about yourself and your limits.

Experiences:
High school is where some students have a transformative period in their life filled
with growth, challenges, and memorable experiences.
“My experience at East High School is good, I would say at the beginning, coming
through my transitioning to the school my freshman year, it was a little bit rocky, but
throughout my years. It’s been really, really good especially my senior year,” senior
Florance Nshimirimna said.
It is a time when students begin to discover their passions, develop lifelong friendships, and learn valuable lessons both inside and outside the classroom.
“It was pretty good, that’s all I have to say,” junior Lauren Ziaty said.
From navigating academic pressure to participating in extra-curricular activities
like sports, music, or clubs, high school offers countless opportunities for personal
development.
“I feel like it’s been a positive experience so far I started my senior year, and I’ve had
the best experience that I had all my high school years,” senior TeAsia Manuel said.
Challenges and support:
High schoolers face minor or major setbacks that could shape what happens in their
future or sometimes they turn it into a positive thing and be on a good track after
that.
“My hardest challenges I faced was not putting myself out there, was staying to
myself, not making connections, and tiring myself to like, show out. Those are some
challenges I faced.” The teachers and family that mainly helped her are “Mrs. McColl
and Mrs. Huss Steils. Those two teachers definitely helped me, specifically Mrs. Huss
Steils helping me and show me that it’s to get out of my bubble and get out there
and show myself,” nshimirimna said.
“Uh, Mrs. Geha,” and her supporters through high school is her “my sister and my
mom and my coaches,” Zaity said.
“Coming to school on time and actually being focused and locked in on schoolwork”
and the teacher that mainly helped her is “I’ll say my English teacher, she helped me
with that section of course, and encourage me to get work turned in, even when I
didn’t feel like it. Another teacher, I don’t if their considered a teacher but my counselor, definitely helps get through it,” Manuel said. She also said her mom, grandma,
aunts, and cousin.
Personal growth and friendships:
It’s also a stage where students start to shape their identities, explore career opportunities, and gain a deeper understanding of the world around them.
“My personal goals that I made was tell myself that I was going to join this and
this and the third. I was going to show myself out there, put myself out there and
experience and make connections with people,” and the friendships “they evolved
tremendously, especially freshman year because I never had a big group I was very to
myself I had a small group and as the years keep coming I made connections with
people, my senior class, I got to know everybody. And I loved everyone and having a
group of friend or just a person that you can call at your lowest or someone that you
can talk to, and you can tell them it’s such a good thing to have in your high school
years,” Nshimirimna said.
“My personal growth is in basketball and track and trying to get to state track that
my personal growth” she doesn’t know about her friendships evolving,” Zaity said.
“Actually, submitting work this year, like the last three years, like I said was not the
best. I was failing a whole bunch of classes, but this year I pushed through all the
challenges and like everything I gone through and graduate on time,” and friendships “I was virtual the first three years, so I didn’t really make any relationships I did my
junior year, and that helped me to be more involved with people, and not be as
anti-social. And this year building more friendships and being a person, and being
helped me shape my identity,” Manuel said.
Overcoming setbacks:
There are lessons high schoolers learn and go through, then they learn from it and
then do it the right the next time.
“The lessons I learned was that time does not slow down for nobody, but you have
to keep moving, you cannot weigh. You must keep going no matter what, and that
it’s okay to make mistakes, just as long as you can take a step back from that, everything will be okay,” Nshimirimna said.
To overcome setbacks, she said “I got better, and I take like, more time…. more time
to get better at it and then do it all over again,” Zaity said.
“I learned that I can actually do it, you know, and not let the big things or small
things set me back or stop me from accomplishing it or is this at least attempting to
I’d say,” Manuel said.
Academics:
“Seeing myself on the honor roll, see myself having good attendance, receiving my
letter “E”, my bar and my pin. That definitely shows me that all that work I’ve been
putting on is good and what I’m doing during school, the work and my efforts that
people do see, and my teachers see, and they acknowledge that and that really helped
me push myself forward and keep going,” Nshimirimna said.
Lauren says her most rewarding academically moment that she experienced in high
school is “when I made varsity in basketball,” Zaity said.
“This Is my first time being on honor roll that was probably my biggest accomplishment so far until graduation,” Manuel said.
After high school:
“After high school I’m planning to go to Iowa Western for two years to get my
associate degree for nursing. And then I’ll be transferred to University of Iowa to get
my bachelor’s degree for speech pathologist and move on from there,” Nshimirimna
said.
“Go to college, play basketball and run track,” Zaity said.
“Go to DMACC and get a business transfer degree and then go into Iowa state to
get a bachelor’s degree in business management hopefully,” Manuel said.
What are they going to miss about high school?
“Something that I’m going to miss about high school is the traditions our community night, our culture night. The environment that we had at East is very unmatchable
and I’m going to miss it a lot, the connections that made I made, the teachers, even
the students, I’m going to miss them all,” Nshimirimna said.
“The people I met there and the teachers there,” Zaity said
“The dances because they don’t do it in college, that’s something that I’m definitely going to miss. Just the activities that they have going on throughout the year,”
Manuel said