Class of 2024
Finley
High School: Riverside High School
Something You Have Learned About Yourself at Marylhurst
At Marylhurst, I have learned to lead with confidence and to respect other people's origins whether family, religion, or history. I have also learned not to fight for something I want but to fight for something that everyone wants.
Leadership & Legacy Project
My Leadership and Legacy project was to research more about the wildlife of our school's pond and its history. I started with the idea of cleaning out the pond but after discovering the pond's natural beauty, I went with the idea of showing the beauty to the world. I also spent time researching the history of the pond and learned that Dr. Guy Mount made the earthen dam. Dr. Mount ran Oregon's first hospital with a motorized ambulance, Dr. Mount Hospital is located on 10th Street in Oregon City where it has stood for nearly a hundred years.
Favorite Memory
My favorite memory was when I first joined Marylhurst. I had no friends and nobody to talk to but on the first day of school, I met Kaleigh. Sadly, she did leave the school during the pandemic but I am still friends with her. I will always remember writing her phone number on a bark chip. Thank you for still being friends with me Kaleigh even if you did leave our school.
Advice for Younger Students
My advice would be for the incoming sixth graders. I would like to tell them that in middle school, unlike elementary school, you HAVE to do your homework. If you don't, you will not be able to contribute to the greater good of the community and to yourself. Another bit of advice would be to respect Wordly Wise. It will help you in years to come.
Alistair
High School: Rex Putnam High School
Something You Have Learned About Yourself at Marylhurst
At Marylhurst, I have learned that I like to work with other people and with hands-on projects. This makes me more engaged and focused on the project. This is helpful for me to know because I can then put myself in a better environment since I know this.
Leadership & Legacy Project
For my Leadership and Legacy project, I decided to center it around fly fishing. For the Leadership portion of my project, I led a team of Marylhurst students down to the Clackamas River for an excavation of bugs. This was designed to give us a better understanding of what bug life is in the water and what fish eat them. I also learned how to tie flies at a class at Royal Treatment Fly Shop and then got to fish different rivers with those flies. For the Legacy portion of my project, I constructed a black walnut fly-tying table. It is a piece of wood that I routed out and glued a vice into. Then I added pieces of thinner wood on top of it and drilled holes into those for tools and spools of thread to go on. Along with the table, I filmed a fly-tying video on how to tie a Zebra Midge. Last, but not least, I am leaving behind a fly fishing game so students can practice casting. I am so glad I had the opportunity to do this project and the experience I had was great.
Favorite Memory
One of my favorite Marylhursts school memories is when it snowed at school. Everyone got to go outside and play basketball and other games in the snow. That was fun because it was pure chaos and everyone was having a good time.
Advice for Younger Students
My advice for younger students would be to respect your teachers as they usually know best. Also, don't complain all the time as it is very frustrating. Also, have fun at this school, this will be the only school you will probably ever go to quite like it.
Milo
High School: Rex Putnam High School
Something You Have Learned About Yourself at Marylhurst
While at Marylhurst I have accumulated and learned many things. I will take my time management skills, communication skills, how to make friends, and how to highlight and annotate non-fiction texts to high school. I also learned how to be a good community member by moving tons of chairs and tables, and always volunteering to fix tables every time they fell apart.
Leadership & Legacy Project
I made a documentary about mountain biking in the Willamette Valley and the areas close to Portland. I hope to teach the community about places for people who want to try mountain biking and to offer more options for riding closer to their homes. These videos are on the Gnar Bros YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@gnarbros3947/featured For the Legacy portion of my project, I created a pamphlet about my favorite mountain biking places and good trails for people to ride. These pamphlets are designed for people to carry on the trail.
Favorite Memory
My favorite memory at the Marylhurst school was when I was in first grade and got the great idea to carry a rock over my head. I dropped it and then the rock bounced off my head. After that, I had a massive goose egg and had to sit in the office with an ice pack on my head. It was funny because everyone who walked by the office stared me down.
Advice for Younger Students
Do your homework, and if you're running late to school email your teacher. It will help you know what make-up work you have to do.
Quinn
High School: Riverdale High School
Something You Have Learned About Yourself at Marylhurst
During my time at the Marylhurst school, I've learned about the importance of a strong community. Marylhurst has taught me to work on being an active and present community member. Working with a team can greatly expedite a project and is a more effective way to get things done.
Leadership & Legacy Project
My Leadership and Legacy consisted of creating a handbook on marketing an elementary school. I worked with Alison Fredette, Director of Enrollment at Marylhurst, to gather and collect information for the book. During this process, my Leadership and Legacy went through many changes. My original idea was to work with a local preschool to re-design and update their website, but the plan fell through for various reasons. During the creation of my project, I’ve gained experience in marketing and graphic design. I've learned about what it takes to put together a functioning website, as well as promote a successful social media account. In the future, I hope to use the knowledge I've gained from this project to help me be a more informed consumer of the internet and social media.
Favorite Memory
Over my five years at the Marylhurst School, I don't have a favorite memory in particular, besides for crazy weather days. On the days when Oregon decides to go rogue from its usual gloomy, rainy weather, during the short 8-hour school day, are the best days out of the year. Anything from hail, extreme rain, snow, or anything abnormal, requires every student to promptly run outside, often dressed in a t-shirt not made for the cold. Snowballs are thrown, faces become frozen, and memories are made.
Advice for Younger Students
My advice to younger students going into middle school is to always reach out for help when needed. I cannot count the number of times Mary has saved me after I sent a desperate, last-minute email about homework. Always be open about the state of your work and how much you have completed because Mary will always help you find a solution.