When Addi ’15 transferred to Bay during his 9th-grade year, he wasn’t sure what he’d find at his new school. Now, in the middle of his senior year, the answer has become clear: he’s discovered his passions. From music to cross country, and US History to existentialism, Addi has pursued new subjects and stretched his comfort zone with a little patience and a lot of hard work.
Addi shares one such story from his 10th-grade year. As he reflects, “In my sophomore year, I had an opportunity to play in the pit orchestra for Bay’s musical. There were positions open for a ton of different instruments, but I knew I wanted to try out piano. I didn’t really know how to play…and I thought it would be an interesting experience. Colin, our music teacher, gave me the opportunity to play piano. But, playing in the pit was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my entire life!”
Working through this challenge gave Addi a new perspective on music. “I practiced a lot and I worked with a lot of different teachers, and from that, I’ve found my passion. Now, I’ve been playing in the pit orchestra and playing jazz for three years, and I’ve just found this love for and inspiration in music.”
In the world of academics, Addi’s determination came in especially handy during his Existentialism class. During the course, students read existentialist texts by Tolstoy, Barbary, Camus, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, to name a few. It certainly wasn’t an easy class. “The class was an honors course, and a lot of work – a lot of reading. When I started I thought, I can’t do this! But by the end of the trimester, I’d actually gotten used to having all of this reading.” The best part? “The texts we read from were hard to understand, but still so interesting…I enjoyed what I read, and I’m motivated to learn and to keep reading.”
Along the way, he’s gotten support from some pretty amazing teachers. As Addi says, “The teachers at Bay are incredible. I’ve not had one single bad teacher. They’ve all been inspiring, and they all really know how to do their job.”
As Addi prepares to head off to college, he shares some words of wisdom for new Bay students. “All I would suggest is to try new things, and that you can accomplish your goals through hard work. I found my passions through having new experiences and trying new things – the musical, taking these really difficult courses – and even though you struggle, at the end, you can become extremely passionate about it.”
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