Student Spotlight: Bernie Frantz

Bernie Frantz ’19 (right) posing next to Ryan Perry ’19.

Student Spotlight: Bernie Frantz ’19

by Shailee Desai ’21

1. What is your least favorite food?
Cilantro because I have a genetic problem where it tastes like soap.
2. What do you like doing in your free time?
Hang out with my close friends and enjoy my time with them before college
3. What’s your favorite part about Sem?
The new water polo club that I co-lead
4. What are three things you couldn’t live without?
My family, friends, and pizza
5. Who is your favorite celebrity?
I don’t have a favorite celebrity. I don’t pay attention to that aspect.
6. What is one thing you want everyone to know about you? 
That water polo club is a great activity guaranteed on Fridays after school!

Springtime on Sem Campus

Springtime on the Sem Campus

By Anna Gowarty ‘22

With the warm weather returning, thoughts of spring have begun to flourish around campus, and with spring upon us the student body has a number of different activities for students to take advantage of as the weather begins to warm up. One activity in particular, lacrosse, is eyed by many people in the Sem community as the sport of the spring. Lacrosse player Julia Burg ‘21 explained why playing a spring sport means so much to her. Now in her sixth season playing lacrosse, Burg started playing at Sem’s lower school and insists that this upcoming season may be one of the best yet. She explained, “I’m very excited about this season. We have such a great program, and every year we keep getting stronger. It’s great to see us click and work together as a team everyday.” While Julia spent her winter honing her skills in a dome lacrosse league, she insists that it is the springtime in which the team really comes together. “We had a few open fields before our actual season, but most of the work for our success happens during the regular season”. Spring isn’t only beneficial to the team. Julia explains that playing lacrosse in the spring is one of her favorite activities at Sem: “Once it gets warm and sunny outside, I love to be outside practicing. Every practice goes by super fast. It’s like you don’t even realize that you’re out there for two hours everyday, I love it, and we all just have a great time out there!”   

Sports aren’t the only activities students on campus will be enjoying this spring. Some on campus will be putting their acting talents on display in this spring’s production of Alice in Wonderland which will be directed by Ms. Traill. Gigi Ruggiero ‘22 is one of a handful of students looking to to show off their acting chops this spring. Ruggiero raved about the casts preparation: “I am really enjoying the play. It’s a super fun experience so far. I’m meeting a lot of new students who I didn’t even know enjoyed acting.” Even though the play involves a lot of hard work, Ruggiero seems not to be phased by it. She explains, “The preparation is not too bad. I’m mostly just preparing my lines. The blocking isn’t too confusing, so the only part I really have to worry about is getting my lines down.”

While some students may enjoy spring activities outside of the classroom, most, if not all, students are focusing on the next few weeks before finals. Many students, like Emily Aikens ‘22, have already started the process of studying for their finals and focussing on their classes. Emily lists many tactics she uses to get ready for exams: “Something that helps me prepare is going to Starbucks to study. It just provides a change in scenery and helps me to focus more.” Emily emphasised that being prepared has helped her calm a lot of the anxiousness that goes along with getting ready for finals but admitted that studying during spring time can be really hard. “There is definitely a lot going on this spring term, so it is easy to just want to go outside and not study. That said, I try to keep in mind that there will be a long summer break coming up soon and that studying will pay off on the tests!” she stated.  

In the end, the Sem community has many activities during the spring to keep the school year fun and rewarding. However, the Opinator reminds its readers that finals are just around the corner, so play hard, entertain the masses, but most importantly remember to prepare for finals. Of course keep in mind, while everyone is taking advantage of spring, summer is right around the corner!

Student Spotlight: Becca Hammerman

Student Spotlight: Becca Hammerman ’19

by Shailee Desai ’21

1. What’s one goal you want to accomplish in your lifetime?
French, Latin, and Spanish have always been some of my favorite classes because I love learning new languages and cultures. Something different I would really like to learn is sign language. I really want to make time to do that in my lifetime.

2. If you were a candy bar, which one would you be, and why?
I would be any one of those fun-size candy bars. I usually see them being given out during holidays or just for fun, and they are small but mighty. It seems like they pack in a lot of joy in just one little package, and I can definitely relate to that.

3. Who do you look up to the most?
I have role models in every aspect of my life. If I had to chose the most obvious answer to the question here, though, it would be my brother, Noah. He is the most creative person I know and is constantly coming up with new ways to pursue his passion in graphic design and photography. It really impresses me.

4. Who’s your favorite musician, and why?
My favorite musician is Jon Bellion. I love him because I was listening to him on SoundCloud before he was famous (everyone’s favorite thing to brag about). He is an alternative artist, and I was able to see him grow as an artist and watch his concert venues get bigger and bigger as his popularity grew.

5. What’s one thing you want everyone to know about you?
Some may already know this about me, but if you can’t find me on campus, you’ll find me at Melt Hot Yoga. I’m either taking classes or teaching (Hot Pilates) classes, and I love the community at the studio. Come take a class if you have never tried it before 🙂