Katherine Park ’16

Currently residing in Old Tappan, NJ, Katherine Park first attended D-E as a preschooler, moved to public school afterward, and came back to D-E as a ninth grader. Katherine explains the biggest reason for her return is due to her mother who graduated D-E as well, Dr. Margaret Chu Park ’87. And her brother, Matthew ’19, is a tenth grader at D-E.

I can’t say that I have a favorite teacher, but I have genuinely loved every one of my English classes throughout the past four years. Some of the English electives that I took my junior and senior year that I especially enjoyed were America Post 9/11 with Ms. Maffetone and Modern Japanese Literature with Mr. Deal. What’s funny is that Ms. Maffetone had both my mom and me as students and wrote both of our college recommendations! Additionally, another coincidence was that I had both Mr. Stott for AP U.S. History and Ms. Stott, Mr. Stott’s daughter, for AP Biology both my junior year. Through both of these classes, my love for science and history has grown, which is why I plan to major in Medicine, Science, and Humanities at Johns Hopkins next year.

Since freshman year, I have been on both Varsity Soccer and Lacrosse teams. I was the captain for both and I enjoyed every moment of being a part of these teams. I also was a tour guide leader, which I really enjoyed because I was able to share my experiences with prospective students and their families. Finally, I was also a co-editor for the school news section of Spectrum, the school newspaper. I would never have imagined even joining the newspaper first coming into high school, but as soon as I started to get more involved in the club, I began to enjoy and develop my writing much more.

Because I live 25 minutes away from school, a typical school day starts by waking up around 6:45 AM. Once we’re ready, my brother and I drive to school. At school, a typical day is going to classes, advisory with Ms. Leiken, lunch, and then getting ready for sports.

Coming into senior year, I was excited to take classes that I was interested in. At Dwight, I love the ability to choose most of our classes in our junior and senior year. I was most excited for AP Psychology with Dr. Carragher, Conspiracy Theories with Mr. Stott, and AP Spanish with Ms. Calendrillo. Dr. Carragher always made the class fun and made all of the topics very relatable to every student in the class. I was excited to have Mr. Stott again this year after taking AP U.S. History with him last year. Conspiracy theories was fascinating and interesting, and I got to learn about the conspiracy theories surrounding the JFK assassination and 9/11. On the other hand, I was very nervous about AP Spanish, as I didn’t think I was ready for the course. However, Ms. C. helped improve my speaking, reading, and writing skills and prepared me well for the AP.

Next year, I am excited about further pursuing my passions. I am interested in studying both history and science, and I plan to go to medical school. Hopkins has an interdisciplinary major called Medicine, Science, and the Humanities, and I’m excited about integrating all my interests as such.

The highlight of my D-E experience has to be my participation in the athletics program here. Through soccer and lacrosse, I have been able to grow not only as a player but as a leader as well. But more importantly, I have met some of my best friends, in my grade and younger, through our time together on these teams. Additionally, some of the greatest and happiest memories I have of Dwight are the moments I have experienced on these teams. My sophomore year, my soccer team was in the second round of states against Saddle River Day. The game went down to penalty kicks and everyone was incredibly nervous. However, we came out on top and that day is a day that I will never forget, with everyone cheering, screaming, and crowding around us. I am definitely going to miss the community and school spirit here at Dwight, and I can’t wait to come back to visit and watch some games.

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Katherine Park ’16

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