Senior year can be an exciting time for change and growth. It’s a year when sentimental memories are formed during the last year of being with everyone you have grown up with through your school years. On the website Keep Indiana Learning, Madysen Rauch wrote an article called “What I Wish I Had Known” for seniors. Rauch noted, “ So even though some things may feel like they’ll make or break your future, just remember that no singular event defines who you are, and the choices you make in your life determine your worth as a person over anything else, regardless of the pressures and messages that sometimes indicate otherwise.” Nicki Trivisonno is a senior at Mayfield High School this year. I interviewed Nicki about her high school experience and senior year. Although Nicki is my sister, I don’t know too much about her experience so I wanted to learn the details of it. Nicki plans to major in psychology on the pre-law track and minor in Spanish. She is not yet committed to a school but is interested in colleges mainly out of state, specifically Syracuse University. I asked her a series of questions to gain insight into her years at Mayfield. 

To begin, the first question I asked Nicki was, “What are you most looking forward to after graduation?” and she responded, “I’m looking forward to moving on to something new. I’m excited to meet new people and experience new things while I’m in a different environment.” Nicki also stated that she is most likely going out of state for college, she believes it will be nice to do so since she has always lived in Ohio. The next question I asked Nicki was about her favorite part of senior year. She explained, “My favorite part of senior year has probably been just being able to look back on my time in high school and even all the way back to elementary school.” Nicki made an additional statement about how she thinks it’s so cool to reflect on past memories with people she has spent time with for essentially her whole life. “What is the hardest part of being a senior?” was another question I asked Nicki and she answered, “The hardest part of being a senior is trying to balance applying to colleges with performing well in my classes.” Nicki elaborated on how she’s taking 4 AP classes and has a full schedule so she has to find ways to stay motivated in order to succeed. Additionally, I asked her what teacher has impacted her the most at Mayfield High School. Nicki revealed, “Mr. Deaton has impacted me the most because I’ve had him as my Spanish teacher every year of high school.” She also expressed how Mr. Deaton has pushed her to be better and more confident in Spanish and inspired her to minor in it. The final question I put forth was, “What was your hardest year of high school?” to which she replied, “Freshman year was definitely the hardest year of high school for me. I think mentally I wasn’t prepared for high school and what taking all honors classes entailed.” Not only that, but Nicki also said that overall it was just a bad year and it was very difficult to find motivation. Nicki has enjoyed her High School experience and is excited for what’s to come. 

Furthermore, I interviewed the teacher who has impacted Nicki the most here at Mayfield High School, Mr. Deaton. Mr. Deaton is a Spanish teacher at MHS, Nicki has had him all four years of high school. I interviewed him about Nicki, asking questions about her throughout the years. The first question I proposed was, “How has Nicki grown throughout the years you have had her?” Mr. Deaton voiced, “Nicki has grown a lot in terms of her own confidence and outgoingness. She became more outgoing and confident in herself.” He also explained how Nicki used to be very quiet but then opened up and developed into her own person. The following question I asked was what his favorite part about having Nicki as a student is. Mr. Deaton responded, “Definitely her chats. She’s fun to talk with and she’s down to earth. She always has great stories about her family.” He also said that since he had our sister, Carli Stewart, he was able to build a connection and blossom their own friendship from that. The last question I asked Mr. Deaton was, “What are Nicki’s strengths in your opinion?” and he expressed, “She’s very kind to me and she can work with anyone. She figures out how to make friend and work relationships work and do well. She’s also very hardworking” Mr. Deaton spoke on how Nicki is an encourager and is very supportive of others. He said she is very loyal and respectful, if anyone ever needs her to be by their side she’s there. In summary, Mr. Deaton has enjoyed watching Nicki grow throughout the four years he has had her and is glad to have impacted her greatly. 

To conclude, Nicki Trivisonno is a hardworking student who hopes to achieve a lot in her years after high school. She has had a good senior year so far and is looking forward to what awaits her. It is evident that Mr. Deaton has greatly impacted Nicki since she is minoring in Spanish. He encourages her to continue her road to fluency in Spanish while she’s in college.