online edition

The Student Newspaper of Hopkins School

    • New students gather on the Quad for orientation.

Senior Advice to Underclassmen

Zoe Sommer’23 Features Editor
This fall, Hopkins welcomed over 100 new students to campus. To help new students, The Razor reached out to the Class of 2022, asking them to share advice about navigating life on The Hill. Here’s what the seniors had to say about the Hopkins experience.
What advice would you give to incoming seventh graders?
“Don’t restrict yourself; give yourself room to grow. The things that interest you now and the things that you’ll be passionate about in a few years might be far more different than you’d expect. Try new things, understand that there’s no such thing as failure—only opportunities to learn,” Alexandra Matthews.

“Be patient. Junior school is for learning about how you learn, about your classmates, and the school. Don’t worry too much about your grades, ask for help, and have fun,” Anonymous.

What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?
“When teachers or other people say to ask for help, they really mean it. High school is a tough time, and anybody that you ask would be happy to help out with whatever you need. High school is also a fun time, though! Make tons of good memories, good relationships with your classmates and teachers, and find your ‘thing’ that makes you feel special,” Brandon Faunce.

“Ninth grade is the time to try a bunch of new things, whether it be working on a production with HDA, trying out for a team, or just joining a club or an intramural sport. It gets harder and harder to try lots of things as you get busier, so it’s super important to get outside of your comfort zone and experience. Even if you missed some clubs at the activities fairs, you can always reach out to club heads or members to join mid-year,” Zach Williamson.

What is one essential piece of information you think all Hopkins students should know?
“Ask teachers for help! This is definitely echoed a lot around campus, but I was super hesitant to reach out to my teachers when I first came to Hopkins. If you’re confused, more likely than not your teacher will be able to explain the concept in a different way that will help you understand. Teachers at Hopkins really want to get to know you and help you improve, and are always happy to meet with you for extra help,” Zach Williamson.

“Come to school events like Back to School Bash and Ski Lodge Night, participate in activities and clubs and dress up for Spirit Week. Have fun!” Alexandra Matthews.

What is one big mistake you made during your first year at Hopkins and in retrospect how would you have handled the situation differently?
“I spent a lot of time searching for the “right” friend group and not realizing the potential of the people I did hang out with. I think it’s important to value your friends, and especially to do things with them. If I could go back and change that, I would have done a lot more fun things with my friends outside of school and overall just tried to spend more time with them.” Brandon Faunce.

What advice would you give to your past self before starting Hopkins?
“Absolutely get your homework done early. You’re going to have way more stuff to do than you think you do when it comes down to it, especially if you’ve been pushing a ton of things off. It isn’t worth the stress,” Brandon Faunce.
Back
Editor in Chief 
Liliana Dumas 

Managing Editor 
Miri Levin 

News
Sarah Solazzo 
Rose Porosoff
Anvi Pathak 
Lena Wang
Sonali Bedi 
Features
Abby Rakotomavo
Elona Spiewak
Becky Li
Ashley Deng
Aurelia Wen
 
Arts
Aerin O’Brien
Saisha Ghai
Veena Scholand
Ellie Luo
Isha Seth
Op/Ed
Rain Zheng
Winter Szarabajka
Anjali van Bladel
Gitanjali Navaratnam-Tomayko
Bea Lundberg

Sports
Samantha Bernstein
Hana Beauregard
Elaina Paktuka
Beckett Ehrlich
Lukas Roberts
Content
Amelia Hudonogov-Foster
Edel Lee
Micah Betts
Ari Mehta
Olivia Yu
Karolina Jasaitis 

Cartoonists
Susie Becker 
Faculty Advisers
Stephen May
Elizabeth Gleason
Shanti Madison
The Razor's Edge reflects the opinion of 4/5 of the editorial board and will not be signed. The Razor welcomes letters to the editor but reserves the right to decide which letters to publish, and to edit letters for space reasons. Unsigned letters will not be published, but names may be withheld on request. Letters are subject to the same libel laws as articles. The views expressed in letters are not necessarily those of the editorial board.
     
The Razor,
 an open forum publication, is published monthly during the school year by students of: 
Hopkins School
986 Forest Road
New Haven, CT 06515

Phone: 203.397.1001 x628
Email: smay@hopkins.edu