Hello! My name is Hailey and I grew up in Santa Cruz, California. I originally heard about Thacher from my grandfather who was a student and later a teacher here. I have been at Thacher since I was a Freshman and I am currently in my Senior year.
My favorite class at the moment is AP Studio Art. I love that for forty minutes every day that I get to sit down with my three other classmates in the studio art room, and under the watchful eye of Ms. Mahoney, work on the assignment we are tackling. I love that quiet time during the day when I can just sit down, forget about all my other worries and just focus on why in the world my pumpkin’s shadow isn’t quite right.
People at Thacher—peers, schoolmates, faculty, staff, others—who have influence me positively and how: I find that my fellow seniors influence and inspire me quite a lot. I love it when we all come together as a class, whether we are doing Zumba in the dance studio or struggling through homework in the library. I always feel like my classmates are there to support me and help motivate me.
Advice for someone thinking about going away to school or specifically coming to Thacher: My advice is to any prospective student is always that you must find the one school that is right for you. Thacher is, conveniently, a very diverse school with many different opportunities so lots of different people feel as though Thacher is the place for them. It’s really up to you though. If Thacher just feels right then maybe it is, but if there’s something just not right maybe you need to keep looking.
Blog Posts by Hailey ’12:
As my Thacher graduation date is ever looming closer, I can’t help but begin to form a bucket list of things I want to do before I leave. And in terms of my senior year, I think I’ve already done a pretty good job. This year I have sung in a coffee-house, written for the our school paper, and done trail work. Back in October, all ten freshman prefects got up on stage and sang a song dedicated to the freshman class at a coffee-house. Then, I was recently published in our school newspaper: The Notes. And lastly, this year I have realized the beauty of getting up a bit earlier on a Sunday morning to hike up a trail and get some work done so we can preserve our seemingly endless trails. But as I was hiking the Morgan Barnes trail yesterday with my friend Sarah, we began to form the list of things we want to do before we left the beautiful Ojai Valley for good.
On the list that we began to form, we added hike to Twin Peaks (the two peaks that overlook our campus) and run into town (about a five-mile, down hill jog). I also decided that I want to make some pasta for a munch out for my freshman girls, or maybe throw a quesadilla night for the whole dorm. While the list is ever-evolving, I want to make this last trimester count. So here is my goal: to have a complete list by the time we get back from spring break, and here’s to the best trimester yet!
This week the Seniors have big deadline for our Senior Exhibition coming up. The Senior Exhibition is a year long research project on any subject of our choice. My chosen topic is Industrial Farming and the Loss of Heritage Breeds, and I couldn’t be happier. Every time I read about my topic or do a little research I have to do everything in my power to contain my excitement and not go running around the library spewing facts about industrial versus organic farming practices. I have a long way to go until my final presentation in April, but I’ve come a long way. And if you ever want to chat about different farming practices or our current food system, drop me a line!
Zone 10 Finals IEA horse show is the exact reason for my stress this week. Zone Finals is a show in which all of the qualified people from 6 schools across California (Thacher has 6 students competing) come down to Ojai while we host them. This Spring trimester there are only three riders (including myself), which means that my fellow English riders and I are all responsible for getting 13 horses in shape and all cleaned up for the big day! Today is especially critical since then we get to bathe all the horses and make sure they are all ready and clean for Saturday (show day!). As long as the horses and saddles get cleaned, horses fed, and people prepared we will be in great shape for Saturday, as long as it doesn’t rain!
[It didn't. And Thacher ended up sending four riders to Nationals!]
• New Art Project- Due next Thursday, I get to create scene using old magazines clippings and then draw it.
• Western themed dance this weekend- I’m part of the the Thacher Pack and Spur club so I get to help plan it!
• AP Environmental Science lab- 3 other students and I are working to build a model home that uses passive solar heating and cooling and then we will get to test it!
• IEA Zone Finals horse show- Although I’m not competing, I get to help get all the horses ready and make sure the competition day runs smoothly.
• College Meetings- Since I toured a few colleges over break, I’m going to go sign up for a meeting with the college counselors to discuss what I thought of the schools!
• Bake sale- Tomorrow there is back sale to raise money to help Japan so I’m going to bake some treats to donate!
