On Mar. 7, 8, and 9, 2016 the annual senior panel was held in the Jenkins Auditorium. Seniors at Malden High School gave advice during the panel to freshmen. The panels were divided by house and freshman were excused from missing their 7th and 1st period classes. There was a group of chosen seniors that talked about their experiences at Malden High School. Although the panel was mainly run by the seniors, the house counselors were there to guide them through asking questions.
On Tuesday Mar. 7th, Ann O'Connor, the Jenkins and Brunelli House counselor, guided the panel. The first question was a general one asking what the seniors wished they could have known before senior year. The seniors answered that they had wished to have been involved in what they wanted, instead of what they thought they should have done.
Another piece of advice the seniors offered was to be actively involved in school activities. This includes but is not limited to volunteering, joining sports teams and clubs, or creating new clubs.
The seniors next addressed grades, stating that mistakes and failure are a part of high school but they will not be the worst things in the world. Mistakes help to drive people to work harder if viewed as motivation rather than a set back.
Then they each talked about the clubs that they had joined and enjoyed throughout their four years. Some clubs mentioned were Unified Sports, Computer Club, Robotics, and Malden Against Cancer. Some students also mentioned their enjoyment from sports they played and their regrets that they didn’t play for all four years at MHS.
Senior Kaitlyn Gibson stated, “It was fantastic to see so many seniors willing to share the positive and negative parts of their high school careers to allow the freshmen to stand on their shoulders and build off their knowledge.” In addition, senior Kelvin Chengbo commented that “the seniors enjoyed telling their stories and the freshmen seemed to be really interested in what they had to say.”
The seniors closing words reiterated the importance of attending school events as well as pursuing their personal interests rather than to bandwagon certain activities. Chengbo mentioned that “the most important thing that [the freshmen] took away from [the panel] was to explore all the opportunities offered at MHS.”
Overall the panel was an effective way for freshman to be informed about their upcoming years at MHS.
