At the end of August, I gathered my bags and walked onto the bus to go on the annual cross-country trip — a four-day training camp in Knoxville, Maryland, where the entire team practices together every day. As I walked onto the bus, I headed toward fellow freshmen, nervous to talk to any of the older students around me.
Within a couple of minutes on the road, upperclassmen asked me for my name and what I had done over the summer. Other students I had never met offered me snacks and invited me to play board games with them. Upon our arrival at camp, I had already made lots of friends spanning every grade level.
Throughout cross-country camp, whenever we weren’t running, I engaged in activities with students across grade levels. During free time, I played poker, basketball, frisbee and lots of other games with new people I was meeting. I also participated in a mock Olympic games where I was on a team with kids of all grades, doing activities like speed walking, swimming, boat racing and a synchronized swimming routine.
Every evening, I was assigned different people from all grades to eat dinner with. I became friends with a lot of upperclassmen through conversations during our meals. Those dinners gave me an opportunity to hear about the GDS high school experience. I got advice from upperclassmen about how to navigate life in high school.
By the end of the trip, I felt more connected to and welcomed by students in both my own grade and ones older than me.
The community spirit I felt during cross-country camp didn’t end when camp was over; it has also carried over into the school year. Whenever we have meets, the whole team does a psych the day before, where we dress up according to themes like The Matrix, sleeveless shirts, Barbie and tourists. Whenever we do psychs, I see students of all ages in the hallways wearing the same themed clothes as me. Often, upperclassmen I haven’t met yet will recognize me as a member of the cross-country team because of my psych outfit and will introduce themselves.
Throughout the school year, I have noticed the welcoming nature of the GDS community exists beyond just the cross-country team. Although I have only been in high school for about two months, I have made so many new friends, underclassmen and upperclassmen alike, across various social circles and backgrounds.
One of my favorite school bonding events was First Friday — a high school–wide afternoon of competition when every grade played fun games against each other. Because we were participating in the same events as the older grades, the activities felt unifying; we weren’t freshmen separated from the other grades, but on a level with the upperclassmen. Although the freshmen did not win, I got to compete against students in all grades in a way that exposed me to new faces and the friendly culture of our community.
I’ve also been to many soccer and volleyball games after school. I generally sit with my friends, and students from other grades will come join us. I enjoy supporting the GDS sports teams with the entire fan section — which sometimes even includes teachers and administrators — because we all come together to cheer and encourage the players. I also appreciate that the games offer a unique introduction to the students in the community. Seeing my peers support their friends allows me to learn more about upperclassmen and feel more integrated into the community.
At the volleyball Pack the House Night, students, faculty and parents came together to support the volleyball team. That day, the gym was filled with joyful fans, all cheering loudly for the players. I not only felt a huge sense of community, but I could actually see it in all of the students, parents and faculty who came to support the volleyball team.
Homecoming at GDS is another example of the inclusive environment that GDS fosters, especially for freshmen. Unlike at most schools, GDS homecoming is casual, and all students are encouraged to attend regardless of whether they have a date. Instead of the usual slow dancing that takes place at other schools’ homecomings, everyone at the GDS homecoming circled around and danced with each other while listening to popular songs. Students of all grade levels danced and sang together. I enjoyed spending time with my peers, especially those I met through school bonding activities outside a traditional academic setting.