How has NPHS molded me?

I am a strong believer in that environments have the capability of impacting those who live in them, and school life is no exception. From spending long nights in the computer lab for the newspaper in order to meet adequate deadlines to volunteering at school events for NHS, I feel like I might as well have my own bedroom located in the school. Considering this, I am certain that New Paltz High has had a great influence on my entire persona.

My mom is a math teacher in the Newburgh district, and upon hearing horror stories of her students often, I am so thankful to be enrolled in a school such as New Paltz. I absolutely love how it is a small school, which focuses  on students as individuals. Because of this, I feel that I have been able to form personal relationships with teachers rather than just encountering them nonchalantly day-to-day. Without these bonds with my teachers, my learning would've taken an entirely different route. I wouldn't be as outspoken and questioning of the material that I learn as I am today. As well as getting to know my teachers personally, I completely enjoy the fact of knowing all of my peers. I would never be able to imagine only knowing a small percentage of my own class and leaving the rest a mystery. Here at New Paltz, I'm able to be comfortable with who I am rather than wonder who is around me.

In addition, I enjoy how I am able to look forward to coming to school everyday. With little to no violence and having great friends that I am able to confide in, I know that for other teens at other schools, this is not the case. Some are intimidated by the fact of going to school, whether it be the fear of being involved in a fight to even the most extreme, like being pressured with drugs. Sure, no matter what school you go to you always have peer pressure pressing down on you, but New Paltz definately isn't unbearable in that sense.

I would be an entirely different person then I am today if I hadn't been enrolled here at NPHS. At a larger school, I probably would've been the shy girl who would normally be overlooked. I am not one for huge packs of people, as I need to be comfortable in my surroundings before I open up. I truly enjoy the support that I am able to recieve from my teachers, friends and family, as well as the one-on-one assistance that I may need from time to time. Because I love the environment of our high school, my very first choice for a school must be that it is on the smaller-scale. I can't imagine being thrusted into a huge school when I came from a small and cozy little town.