For seniors, it’s our last semester of high school, and we’re on the verge of leaving for “real college.” Many of us are taking relaxed schedules this semester to give ourselves a break from the marathons that have been the previous three semesters. It seems that each of the past three semesters had something which made them…interesting. In the first semester, we were all just trying to acclimatize to our new setting and make new friends. In the second semester, we were occupied with schedules full of CPS and other work-intensive courses. In the third semester, some of us were busy pouring our soul into college applications. However, things feel different this time around. Having more relaxed schedules, many seniors are using their newfound time for other endeavors. Personally, I’m trying to maintain my mental and physical health, for I allowed both of these things to decline during my junior year (especially during my second semester). A friend of mine is using her spare time to do productive activities that she previously didn’t make time for, such as listening to podcasts and reading more often. Furthermore, it’s almost as if my classmates and I are waiting for a change of pace from our current setting, but we also can’t help but use this last semester to reminisce on our entire Gatton experience. It feels like move-in day wasn’t that long ago, yet it also feels like we have delved into a monotonous way of life that we need to break out of.

We are in a gray area right now. We completed our college applications last semester, and we’re currently in a waiting period to find out where we will end up next year. This is a time full of uncertainty for the future and reflection on the past, but we must be sure to enjoy the present as well.

If there’s one thing you need to know about Gatton, it’s that third floor is the best floor…at least in my eyes. You’ll probably hear the same message being stated by any Gatton student but in regard to their own floor.

Jokes aside, I can confidently say that the Third Floor Boys wing of Gatton is the tightest-knit community which I have pertained to. At Gatton, students have an on-floor curfew of 10:30pm on weeknights, and midnight on weekends. Don’t tell anyone, but many students tend to stay up for however long they please, for varying reasons. After curfew, there’s nobody around besides the guys/girls on your given floor, so it’s not a surprise that students tend to become closest to those on their floor. It’s like living in a bubble. Each floor’s community is separated from the rest of Gatton for 6-7 hours each night. The staff terms such a community “wing/floor culture.” Whenever you need help understanding something in class, need advice about a trivial choice to make, or if you need to just talk something out, the people on your floor will always be there for you. Life at Gatton would be drastically different if it lacked such a close community. Students would roam from class to class with nothing to do, and nobody to spend time with. That said, the bonds I have made with those who reside around me is something that I can look back on with a smile, and something that has made my Gatton experience even more worthwhile.

One particular bond I formed during my Junior year is that with my roommate, Pranay. At orientation, he came up to me and asked if I wanted to room with him. We agreed, and the year turned out great. There are a few Gatton students who, while living together in harmony, aren’t the best of friends with their roommates, so I’m proud to have had such a good friendship develop last year with my awesome roommate.

This year, the third floor community has a lot to live up to. The bonds that were created last year were unlike anything I had ever felt before. The community here at Gatton is truly something special. That said, from the first night this year, I know the new people on my floor will help us build something even better than last year.

Trivan

Thanks for interrupting your perfectly fine day to read about me. My name is Trivan Menezes, and I’m from La Grange in Oldham County, Kentucky. You’re probably wondering where my heritage lies. Don’t worry, I wondered the same thing for the longest time. Anyways, my mother is from Indonesia and my father is from Brazil, so I guess my family-life is not super American—or it is, depending on how you see it.

I came to Gatton in search of a change of pace. I challenged myself at my former school academically while also pursuing one of my biggest passions—soccer. I typically look over almost everything that I “left behind” to come to Gatton, with the exception being “The Beautiful Game.”

In terms of academics, the rigor is just what I was looking for. It’s refreshing to live alongside students who care about what they’re doing and where they’re going, and I’ve surrounded myself with people who share similar aspirations and outlooks. During my first semester, I scoured around to try to find a feasible and enjoyable research project. I had limited success, but I eventually settled on a mobile app development project with my computer science professor…or so I thought. After my first semester, my calculus professor, Dr. Claus Ernst, pulled me aside and invited me to join his knot theory research project alongside one of my senior Gatton students, Camuel Hart. I dropped everything (a.k.a. my app development project) to join the project, and I have not looked back. Camuel and I made a fair amount of progress in our research back in the spring. It was enough for me to give my first research presentation at a mathematics conference. It’s a bit surreal to think that without Gatton, I would probably be sitting back in the comfortable world of Oldham County taking some AP classes, as opposed to actually making strides in the world of academia.

This past summer, Gatton provided me with the opportunity to continue my research into the summer via their Research Internship Grant awards. My project’s progress continued, but after my seven-week stint of full-time research, I joined my classmates for a study abroad trip to England. We spent three weeks in England, bouncing around from place to place with the goal of experiencing a new culture.

Outside of my classes, I keep myself busy by volunteering each week at a local elementary school with Gatton’s GALE club (Gatton Leaders in Education), attending film club, participating in Student Y, and hanging out with the rich community at Gatton.

The Gatton experience has been full of up’s, quite a few down’s, but an unlimited amount of learning experiences. I appreciate that I was given the chance to reflect on this, at the expense of however long it took you to read these paragraphs full of conceit and self-praise. Anyways, I’ll go back to being an Avatar and fulfilling my duties in mastering all four elements (oh wait, wrong Avatar).

Trivan