MESA, AZ — It’s an exciting time for thousands of students across Arizona. For many, they’re celebrating the last week of school.
ABC15 sat down with five Mesa students to talk about what the last school year was like for them, what they learned, what they believe the future will hold and any advice they have for other students moving to other grades.
Throughout the interviews, there was a common theme among the students in all grades: a bittersweet feeling of moving on to the next chapter of their lives.
Here’s who ABC15 interviewed:
- Sander and Silas Blokker, twin kindergartners at Las Sendas Elementary about to head to first grade.
- Sam Okland, a sixth grader at Las Sendas Elementary getting ready to go to middle school.
- Ariana Frader, an eighth grader at Fremont Jr. High about to start high school.
- Montana Maslonka, a senior at Red Mountain High about to leave Mesa for the first time and head to Auburn University, pursuing a double major in law and justice and a general liberal arts degree.
What did you learn this last year, either academically or about yourself?
Silas Blokker: "Science. We learned the little bunny peaks."
Sander Blokker: "If you put them in the water, the color gets off the peaks. It takes the color away and puts it into the water."
Sam Okland: "This last school year, I’ve learned a lot on like how to act in the higher grades, how to do harder math and harder reading, how to use time management."
Ariana Frader: "Before junior high, I went to church camp. One of their things is if you’re really kind of shy, just start saying yes. If God wants it, it’ll happen. So, that’s what I kind of lived by since then… That’s what I’ve learned, just try to say yes more often. Most of the time, good things come of it."
Montana Maslonka: "I really learned the value of boundaries and saying no. I am notorious for being a 'yes woman'. I love doing all the things, but this year has really tested me just as far as my limits and when I need to take a break and say no… Sometimes you do have to take time for yourself and put yourself first sometimes."
How do you feel about moving on to the next grade or college?
Sander Blokker: "Good."
Silas Blokker: "Sad because I’m not going to see my teacher."
Sam Okland: "I’m more excited. I get to experience like all the different things that’s going to happen. I get to learn a lot more."
Ariana Frader: "Exciting and nervous."
Montana Maslonka: "It’s going to be a lot. A wave of emotions. I was a freshman in high school during COVID so I would say there was a lot of emotions with that. So, I think in a similar way, I am so looking forward to meeting all new people… I’m really excited for all the different exciting things."
What are you expecting out of the next grade, college or the future?
Sam Okland: "I’m nervous but also excited. If I’m going to make it to each class on time, but I’m also excited to have different teachers and a different setup in each classroom."
Ariana Frader: "To meet a lot of new people and to get close with teachers and get as involved as I can without having too much going on."
Montana Maslonka: "I am super excited about my future. I’m looking in the field of constitutional law or legal history. I would love to either be a professor and teach those subjects, potentially work in the court system or work in a museum as historian point of view. I’m not exactly sure where my future is going to take me. My goal is to be a constitutional law professor, but I am just excited to be working in those different areas."
What advice do you have for a kindergartner moving onto first grade?
Sam Okland: "Probably just like focus on school. Don’t try and get into this drama with your friends. Just be a good kid, pretty much."
Ariana Frader: "Just have fun. You’re in elementary school, and learning is important and take it serious, but have fun."
Montana Maslonka: "I would say just smile the most. Enjoy this little moment you have in your life. Be kind to people."
What advice do you have for a sixth grader about to head to middle school?
Ariana Frader: "Try everything… A lot of people struggle in middle school because it’s harder than elementary school because of all these new teachers and so many different classes. You have so many other new students with you, but just be yourself, don’t focus on what other people are going to say or do. Just try to stay true to who you are. Don’t get into bad things, but try to do as much as you can."
Montana Maslonka: "Despite what a lot of people say, I would say it’s one of the funnest couple years that you have… Just take it all in. It’s only two years. You get that time to reinvent yourself. And kind of become someone new. I would also say have a little bit of fun before you get all that seriousness of high school that sets in."
What advice do you have for an eighth grader who is about to start high school?
Sam Okland: "Probably just like stick to your friend group and don’t get like caught up in any other stuff, just the stuff that matters to you."
Montana Maslonka: "You’re about to have the best four years of your life if you make it. High school is exactly what you make it out to be."
What advice do you have for a high school senior about to graduate?
Silas Blokker: "Either go to college or stay at your house and do homeschool so you can learn more and be smarter."
Sam Okland: "Probably just like manage your money and how you’re spending it. Time management and how you’re going to actually do everything."
Ariana Frader: "Just trying to move forward in life. What I’ve always done is I just put my trust in God… It’s always been a main thing for me to just pray about it, give it to him and if it lines up, it lines up. It doesn’t, it’s not meant to be. Just focus on the positive."
Any other advice for any adults or anyone else out there?
Sam Okland: "If your kid is struggling in school, don’t make it really big. Just try and kind of help them through it. But not like punish them."
