Replaying the last four years Dewey seniors can recall lots of memories and experiences, and yet, so many of the graduating students regret they missed some opportunities during their freshman and sophomore year.
Dewey is renowned for offering a diverse selection of opportunities for students from interest communities and sports to internships and AP classes.
Currently, according to the school’s website, JDHS offers over 50 afterschool clubs and 20 varsity and junior varsity teams.
However, many students during their freshman year are not aware of just how impactful these opportunities can be.
Dewey senior Nikoloz Vacheishvili said that clubs are “Experiences that can change a student’s whole life’s goal,” He added “Clubs are meant to begin something students favor in their career. It is a sneak peak of what students will focus on in their educational journey,” meaning that clubs can define a student’s future.
Another STEM Academy senior, Angelina Lisitsyna, experienced both sports and clubs in JDHS. For the last two years she has been a committed member of the Robotics club and a part of the girls volleyball varsity team. When asked if she feels like she missed anything, Lisitsyna said “I don’t think I missed out on anything, because in my sophomore year I found out about robotics and it literally took all my time.
Commenting on her experience in robotics, she said that “This part of my school experience brought me something new and inspired me for my future career. I found more new people and learned a lot of helpful skills.”
A senior Pre-Med academy student, Daniel Shazad also has similar experiences, saying “I’ve been in volleyball for 3 years. I was also in student council and robotics for a year.” However his reflection over the high school career is very different.
Shazad thinks he should have done more diverse things as a freshman, saying “I think I lived out the high school experience without regrets, but I would still tell my freshman self to join more clubs for sure because I could make more friends and learn a lot early.”
While the benefits of joining teams and clubs as early as freshman are clear, Dewey’s iconic Gym Teacher, Badminton and Table Tennis Coach Mr. Gross also mentioned that “I rarely let seniors in, only if they are very outstanding at their sport.”
Shazad’s friend, senior Hakim Boev, agreed with that statement, saying “I wish I took more diverse extracurriculars because my experience in high school was too focused on the technical things and not enough sports unfortunately.” While having different types of experiences, both of these students miss the diversity of experiences they had available.
When is the best time to join clubs? “Definitely in your 9th grade” says Mr. Gross. “Best if students join in early. They get to learn more and become better athletes. One kid I have joined when he was in 9th grade, now he is one of the best in the city, really blossom.”