Credit: Maddie Zajac

WSPN’s Maddie Zajac and Marissa Mendoza begin their second year of Humans of WHS as they interview six people about their school year so far.

In the fourth chapter of Humans of WHS, WSPN’s Maddie Zajac and Marissa Mendoza interview students and staff about their experiences during this school year. As summer gets closer, some students and staff are excited for the break to begin and for the end-of-year stress to fade away.

Freshman Z’Naiya Lima-Holman
What is your proudest moment this school year?
“My proudest moment this school year was watching my friendships flourish with Rose Halpin and Tessa Corcoran. Another proud moment was watching my friends overcome challenging moments like competition for cheer or other small things.”
Who is someone who was essential to helping you make it through this quarter?
“Rose Halpin and Tessa Corcoran. They’re my best friends and they support me through everything. Mentally, I always had someone with me, I always felt like they were by my side.”
What are you most afraid of right now?
“I’m scared of failing math and going to summer school. I’m more scared now that it’s finals season, but my mom said I could get a nose piercing if I get a B or above on my math final.”
What is something you are looking forward to?
“I’m looking forward to my summer lifeguard job. It’s minimum wage, I start training now and become an official lifeguard in september. I’m excited because I love money.”

Sophomore Nathan Tran
What is your proudest moment this school year?
“My proudest moment this school year would probably just be getting through this school year. Getting good grades [in] math. There was one unit, I think it was the polynomial unit, and I didn’t even know anything. I took the test the next day and I got a pretty good score.”
Who is someone who was essential to helping you make it through this quarter?
“Definitely [my chemistry teacher], Mrs. Frydman. She definitely helped me a lot. On one of the days I was not here, she got me back on track.”
What are you most afraid of right now?
“Definitely finals. Recovering all the topics and memorizing all the formulas for chemistry and math will be a challenge. I [recommend being] relaxed, be confident in yourself, and trust your instincts.”
What is something you are looking forward to?
“Definitely summer. [I will be] hanging out with all my friends, doing community service hours and getting a summer job.”

Junior Sophia Jiiang
What is your proudest moment this school year?
“It would probably be making new friends at Wayland, especially being a new student. I’ve [lived] here my entire life but I [just] moved from Concord Academy to WHS.”

Who is someone who was essential to helping you make it through this quarter?
“Definitely [Guidance Department Head Benjamin] Buffa. He was really supportive and really helped me through this transition. He made sure that I had the right resources [and] made sure that I had what I needed to succeed.”

What are you most afraid of right now?
“I have no fears right now [because] school is almost ending, so [that’s] just something to look forward to.”

What is something you are looking forward to?
“I’m definitely looking forward to next year, meeting new people [and] trying new classes.”

Senior Sophia Salguero
What is your proudest moment this school year?
“My proudest moment this year would probably be getting my Seal of Biliteracy of Distinction and receiving my cord for that.”

Who is someone who was essential to helping you make it through this quarter?
“I would definitely say my friends are the ones who have made this quarter easier to get through. They always encouraged me to push through my senioritis and do my work throughout fourth quarter, so I definitely couldn’t have done it without them.”

What are you most afraid of right now?
“The thing I am most afraid of right now would be losing contact with my friends. My best friend is moving out of state for college, so it’s definitely gonna be harder to stay in contact, so I’m scared of drifting apart from her the most but I hope that we’ll both try our best to make time for each other so we can stay close friends.”

What is something you are looking forward to?
“Something I’m looking forward to is hanging out with my friends the whole summer and making the most of our time together before we all part ways. I look forward to spending as much time as I can with all of them.”

Instructional Technology Specialist Marc Lefebvre
What is your proudest moment this school year?
“My proud moment is probably a broader moment. This is my first year at WHS, and I taught physics for 18 years prior to coming here. There was a lot of uncertainty about stepping into this role, so I think my proudest moment is a bigger moment of having done quite well in the role this year. I supported a lot of people and I’ve gotten to know tons of staff and a bunch of students. [WHS] really kind of feels like a new home and I’m really proud of that. It’s been awesome.”

Who is someone who was essential to helping you make it through this quarter?
“So, so many people. [History teacher Erin] Lehman is my mentor and she’s been wonderful. When I’m feeling proud of things, or when I’m feeling a little bummed out about things that haven’t gone well, she’s been pretty awesome to talk to and [has] helped me get through things. The technologists here have been great, [Director of Technology & Digital Learning Leisha] Simon, who’s kind of my direct boss, the technology director and Dr. Mizuguchi have all been really tremendous this year.”

What are you most afraid of right now?
“The end of school year processes are all brand new to me because this is my first year. So we just collected senior laptops, [and] we have ninth to 11th grade laptops to collect. [Figuring] out that whole landscape and helping staff transition to the summer is brand new, so it’s stressing [me] out a little bit right now.”

What is something you are looking forward to?
“I have a ton of travel planned this summer with my family and some one- on-one travel with some of my kids. Then we’re all going to England for a couple of weeks in the summer. I’m really looking forward to kicking back and doing some traveling.”

Head Custodian Sean Slavin
What is your proudest moment this school year?
“My proudest moment is going to the graduation, working the graduation, being there, watching the kids doing their final graduation and going to the next step because I know a few of them too. There’s one family I’ve known forever and the last one graduated this year so that was great to watch them graduate.”
Who is someone who was essential to helping you make it through this quarter?
“That would be the administration. The administration is the backbone here, especially with me because I [work] with them. I’d say between Allyson Mizoguchi, Laura Cole and even Jennifer McGillis, we all work together, so [they’re] the backbone for me. They help a lot when situations arise and [with anything] that’s going on.”
What are you most afraid of right now?
“Right now, I don’t know. There’s nothing I’m afraid of, I’ve been here [at WHS] for too long. That’s the thing. When you’re going to summer work, what makes you afraid is if you’re going to finish in time because it’s a crucial time of [the] year. That’s my worst fear, not getting the school ready for the next year.”
What is something you are looking forward to?
“[I’m looking forward to] taking some time off in the summer and relaxing because right now I need it. From the beginning of May to the last days, the students are very, very busy, so I need a little bit of rest. So I’m looking forward to taking a little bit of vacation time and just relaxing.”