According to the senior-made countdown on Ms. Godwin’s whiteboard, ASFA’s class of 2023 has just a few days left before their high school careers end. This year, the seniors have provided the school with a number of memorable events, including the senior prank, Creative Writing senior readings, the senior choreography program from the Dance Department, the Theatre Arts department’s senior scenes, and many more. While ASFA is sure it’ll remember this group of talented, loving students, how will they remember ASFA?
The STAR sat with a few of this year’s seniors: Creative Writing student Atticus Hill, Visual Arts student Eunique Tarver, Theatre Arts student Ash Smith, and Math/Science student Joscelyn Peterson. They were asked a few questions to reflect on their time at ASFA and gather all the wisdom they’ve gained along the way.
How would you describe your experience at ASFA?
Many of our seniors struggled a little to summarize all the years of experience and hard work put into the school.
Creative writer Atticus Hill, a five-year senior, was able to collect his thoughts, saying, “I’m not going to say it was… like a nightmare, but it definitely felt like challenge after challenge.” He continued, saying, “Some people make it and some people don’t. …[It was like] An obstacle course — emotionally, mentally, spiritually.”
Is there anything meaningful you’ve learned along the way?
ASFA’s class of 2023 all learned a great deal about time management. However surprisingly, many of the seniors didn’t talk about what their specialty taught them about their art, what they put so many years into. Instead, they thought about all the love and relationships found in the walls of the school. To seniors like Eunique Tarver, the real lessons at ASFA are found in the people and how they interact, and what lasting impact everyone has.
To Tarver, the real lesson is learning to trust yourself. As Tarver explains, “Sometimes, as much as you think you need other people or want to lean on somebody, the first person you need to go to is yourself. And the trust you have to build with other people comes from you. You’re your first option.”
Was the ASFA experience worth it?
Theater senior Ash Smith has only attended ASFA for two years, but they still hold strong emotions about all the support they found here. Though it’s only been a short time since their arrival, the nurture and encouragement from Smith’s peers and instructors has provided them with everything they need to take their future seriously.
“Did I try three times to get into this school? Yes. And I would never trade it for anything," Smith says. "I definitely think the past few years have benefited me, and coming to ASFA was the best decision I could’ve made in my last few years of high school."
Is there any piece of advice you’d like to leave to the underclassmen?
At the end of the day, it was all about endurance for this year’s seniors. The journey to graduation was surely not an easy one as they all overcame a number of obstacles, but they’ve made it to the end nonetheless. The seniors advise the underclassmen to keep a watchful eye on their friendship circles and to give their all into everything they do — but most importantly, never give up on what you enrolled for.
Ash Smith gives their final piece of guidance, saying, “Get close to your department heads. They may not be [of] any use to you now, but once you get into your upper years and everything is getting crazy, being close to your department heads will really come in clutch. Especially [for] recommendations and things of that sort.”
Math/Science student Jossy Peterson tells students to relax more and stop sweating the small things. Peterson says, “Don’t take yourself too seriously. A lot of people that go [to ASFA] are very hard on themselves if they don’t succeed as much as they want to. I would say to just go with the flow … you’re your own person, and you have your own journey.”
Of course ASFA is sad to say goodbye to the class of 2023, but wishes them an exciting, successful journey. If any younger student should find themselves a bit fearful of their upcoming years — college applications, large showcases, or anything like that — please feel free to pull them aside and ask your older peers for help. As this year’s graduating class prepares to walk the Alabama Theater stage, ASFA hopes to have many more classes just as successful as this one.
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