Trinity Lupu
Utica High School
Tell us a little bit about
yourself? Grade? Interests? Elementary and Junior High?
My name is Trinity Lupu,
and I am a senior at Utica High School. I have been a UCS student all of my
academic life, starting out at Roberts Elementary then going on to Eppler
Junior High, and eventually landing myself at Utica. I am the Editor in Chief
of the 2021 Warrior yearbook, where I gained my leadership qualities and a love
for graphic design. I am also the president of International Thespian Society
Troupe 4260, which allowed me to find a passion of mine on stage in the
auditorium, most days.
What are
some ideas you may have on how to have a successful school year?
I think that a successful
school year starts with having the right outlook. I think it’s important to
have perseverance though times like this, where we don’t know what is going to
happen next. What comes along with a positive outlook is putting in the maximum
amount of effort you can give. Even if we do not have our regular school days,
that doesn’t mean we can't have a successful school year.
What is
something you learned about yourself during the school closure in the spring?
I learned that it was
okay to not know what to do. I didn’t know how to do class online after 11
years of in-person instruction. I came to the realization that with every new
obstacle thrown my way, I had to put more than enough effort into completing any
task at hand. I also learned that I have an understanding and supportive staff
at Utica High, who really did attempt to establish normalcy in our school days.
They helped me, personally, since I had a hard time staying organized and
motivated during the spring school closure.
How did
your teachers work to stay connected to you?
Most of my teachers
reached out through Zoom or Google Meets in order to stay in touch with us. It
was great to see all of them working harder to support their students by learning
new ways to instruct, and contact each individual. Having daily check-ins
through Google Forms with one of my teachers helped evaluate how I was doing
during this time of uncertainty, and truly displayed how much the staff cares
about their students.
What
would you say to a fellow student who may be uncertain about the start of the
new year?
There are always
opportunities to grow in one way or another. It may seem off-putting since we
have never fully been remote to this extent, but it will bring out the best in
people who adapt to their environment. We have a huge support web through our
teachers, administrators, and other students that we can go to when we feel
lost about the new school year. We will get through all these bumps in the road
by staying connected within our community, as well as reaching outside of it in
order to ground ourselves in our new “normal."