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"Take advantage of all the opportunities Classical has to offer: academic, athletic, and especially social."
Sebastian will be attending Harvard University in the fall, and as of right now he plans on studying chemistry. He had a couple of different options for college next year, mostly in the Boston area, but in the back of his mind, he always knew it was Harvard. Chemistry interested him after he took a couple of science classes during his time at Classical, including AP Chemistry. Sebastian liked how he was able to use math in a more applied way, and he likes that chemistry is a more conceptual science. Sebastian chose Classical for high school because, in terms of educational outcome, it's comparable to private school. He was also very much drawn to the community; he had heard from a Classical alum that the people at Classical were great and that you had a lot of opportunities for self-driven learning. He feels the energy he got from the alumnus, the kind of pride, school spirit, and the passion of being here really excited him. Something that Sebastian would pass on to incoming Classical freshmen is to take advantage of all the opportunities Classical has to offer: academic, athletic, and especially social. During his time at Classical, he did a little bit of tutoring, was a part of the Classical newspaper club as a writer and editor, then became a chief editor. He says the newspaper club is very much a team effort, emphasizing Classical's collaborative spirit.
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"Step out of your comfort zone and try new things. High school is the perfect time to figure out what you like, what you value, and what you want to do."
Riley will be attending Vanderbilt University in the fall, and is leaning toward studying economics, but isn't quite sure if that's what he wants to major in. He knew that he wanted to get out of Rhode Island for college to experience someplace new, and after weighing all of his options, he decided that Vanderbilt was the best choice for him. Riley chose to go to Classical for high school because he loved the student environment and how it draws all different kids from different backgrounds from different parts of the city. He likes that it's a super close-knit community. He said if he had the chance to do it again, he would 100% choose Classical again because he had a really great experience there. One thing that Riley would pass on to incoming Classical freshmen is to advocate for yourself. With a school as big as Classical, and not the highest administrator-to-student ratio, you really have to go out of your way to ask somebody for help, and he thinks it's a good skill to learn for life too, as not everything will always be given to you. He also encourages them to step out of their comfort zone and try new things because high school is the perfect time for that. During his time at Classical, Riley played baseball all four years, was part of the marching and concert band as a drummer, and did some math tutoring.