Alongside the sharp stench of hand sanitizer, the classic aroma of young blood and nervous sweat fills the halls. Welcome, class of 2025, to Oshkosh West as of September 1! This year’s batch of freshmen has had a unique upbringing, ping-ponging from virtual and in-person learning since the seventh grade.

Nolan Thurn has noticed some major changes during his transition from middle to high school.

“The biggest difference is how the teachers treat you,” he said. “In middle school, they treat you more like younger kids. In high school, they treat you like adults.”

Allison Augustine agrees with the change in student-teacher relations.

“Teachers give you more independence,” she said.

Allison Borgmann looks forward to fewer restrictions, but her goal is a greater sense of involvement.

“I was most excited to start high school because you have more freedom,” she said. “You can participate in more things, like sports and school dances.”

With the multitude of opportunities that arise while starting high school, Augustine has found some navigational challenges.

“Finding my classes and the way around the school was a little intimidating,” she said. “At first, I thought West was really big and I’d get lost.”

Eziekel Pederson experienced some similar troubles while trying to find his classes in the maze of academia.

“I was one of the people who struggled a little bit,” he said. “But by the third day, I got used to West by studying my schedule.”

Lily Molash felt underwhelmed with her first impressions of West.

“I didn’t really like the first day of school,” she said. “It was fine, it was just extremely boring and a little awkward.”

Molash revealed she struggled to adjust to the difference in size, especially in the student population.

“The most challenging part of high school so far is the number of people,” she said. “It’s much larger and feels like a different environment than Tipler. I don’t know a lot of people, and it’s harder to get to know them.”

Pederson found the new scheduling changes made it more difficult to socialize.

“The A and B group lunch hour has been the hardest part for me to adjust to,” he said. “I like sitting with my friends in the lunchroom, but I can’t.”

Others, like Thurn, found the academic sector the most stressful part of the transition.

“I think the most challenging part for me is the workload,” he said. “It is a lot different from middle school, and the teachers expect you to do things more independently and be more on top of your schoolwork.”

For Sydney Giordano, it’s less about guidance in accomplishing the course practice and more about the quantity expected..

“The most challenging part for me is the amount of homework,” she said.

Working past initial challenges, the freshmen have found the new environment of West more pleasant and see room for new possibilities. Pederson looks forward to new activities he learned about during West’s activity fair.

“I’m very excited for all of the new things to do,” he said. “Compared to middle school, there’s more activities, clubs, and sports.”

Augustine looks forward to joining new clubs and getting involved.

“I’m interested in the Rotary club,” she said. “I heard some of my friends were doing it and it sounded fun and like a good opportunity.”

Molash is interested in deepening her social connections with others.

“I’m looking forward to meeting new people and trying to make some more friends.”

The class of 2025 stays positive. Giordano looks forward to the bright side of a new environment.

“Because there is a wide variety of classes I can take, I can start figuring out what I want to do with my future,” she said.

By Evan Giordano

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue 1

October 6th, 2021

Freshmen figuring out academic labyrinth, maturation expectations