What is the most influential book you have read besides the Bible? Why?
Recently, the most influential book I’ve read is probably Hamlet. It’s a good story and I believe it Shakespeare’s thoughts about the Reformation. The Reformation and the subsequent death of God has always captured my attention. Was the death of God inevitable? Was the reformation a net negative? How can we move past its effects today?
I think Shakespeare saw all this coming and wrote about it in Hamlet. And I don’t know if he reached a conclusion. I just love seeing him grapple with this idea that still is one of the biggest questions in our world today.
What is your favorite or funniest moment at Geneva?
I think the best moment I’ve had at Geneva was our trip to Europe. Not because of the education aspect of it, but because we, as a class, were together. We’ve spent years getting to know each other in class, at lunch, at sports games, at dances, and outside school. Europe was the climax of that. Everyone was with each other for almost 2 weeks, kind of like a family vacation ↓
What will you miss most when you leave Geneva?
I will miss the community and connection I have with people at Geneva the most. Geneva is small enough to be an extended family. You know everyone, everyone knows you, and you’re connected by the years you’ve spent together. Sure, there’s a couple cousins that annoy you sometimes, but for the most part you know and get along well with most of them. The teachers are like the aunts and uncles, they have their own lives and families, but they genuinely do care about the kids too. When I leave I think its going to be like saying goodbye to one of my families. While it’s something I have to do, it’s going to be sad because it’s not something I can ever get back.
Who influenced you most while at Geneva? How?
Mr. Johnson. His lit class is the only good writing class I’ve taken since I’ve arrived. Maybe I was spoiled before coming to Geneva, but the writing courses I’ve taken in the past challenged me and made me a better writer. Geneva doesn’t do that. I find it a little frustrating that Geneva emphasizes classical education, but never helped me write better. As to why this has influenced me, I believe writing is how you learn to think. It teaches you to organize your thoughts and express them clearly. Thinking is probably the most important feature of humans so anyone that teaches me to think better has a pretty big influence on the rest of my life.
What does being a Geneva student mean to you?
I can’t think of a trait that embodies all, or even most Geneva students. From what I’ve seen Geneva students are a pretty smart group. They’re a pretty kind and honest group, but not everyone I know is all 3 of these things. Geneva is a school, it’s somewhere you go to learn and a launchpad for the rest of your life. A good launchpad shouldn’t dictate what direction you go. Except down. A good launchpad should prevent you from going downwards.
I think the biggest difference between Geneva and other schools is the teachers. We’ve been better invested in, more cared about. I think that’s something worth remembering and not squandering.
How would you encourage a Geneva kindergartner to persevere in school?
Give them candy? My sister was a kindergartner, they don’t understand what it means to persevere in school. Thinking back on what she talked about at the dinner table I guess just encourage their friendships. Even at that age school is about the people there, not what you do. So teach them to share, to be nice, to not bite. Then people will like them and they’ll want to go back to school to be with those people.
What about Geneva do you hope never changes?
The teachers that care. I disagree with some of the decisions they make, and some of the things they do, but it’s hard to forget how much they care.