A Day in the Life: Off-Screen
By Karis T.
A day in life looks different for every single person, and that could not be truer than it is here at NSA. Every student is different and holds a unique place in the diverse and very special student body we have. Everyone’s academic, social, and extracurricular lives look a little different and the flexibility of NSA is something so special that adds to the uniqueness of the student body while also connecting all of the students. Whether you are a high school, middle school, or elementary student, there is a specific place for everyone at NSA and the bigger the school gets, the more that becomes true. That place might look different for everyone, but that only adds to the idiosyncrasy that is NSA.
To demonstrate the sheer uniqueness of the students here at NSA, one student from each section of NSA’s student body: two high schoolers, a middle schooler, and an elementary student, were asked questions about what they feel their place is at NSA as well as general inquiries about their daily life. Not very shockingly, all of their answers to the same questions were different, only further proving the uniqueness that exists at NSA. The flexibility of the schedules and classes molds differently to different students' lives and each student applies the flexibility differently.
Academic
Carlos is a senior here at NSA who lives in Portugal with his family. He has taken classes at NorthStar for two years now in addition to attending a brick-and-mortar school where he lives. “I only take VRP classes since that is what my school arranged for me when I started but I could not see myself doing EVP since I like the flexibility of VRP.” As a senior, the future is something that is a very prominent topic in Carlos’ life. He said, “Ever since my first travel experience, I have always wanted to become an airline pilot. I relish the travel lifestyle and getting to know other people and languages. I currently know 5 languages (Slovak, Portuguese, English, Spanish, Czech) and I aspire to learn French, German, Arabic, and Mandarin. I would like to have experienced a career as a flight attendant, an English teacher, an IT Consultant, Translator, Videographer/Editor, or all of the above. I would like to have volunteered to help anywhere around the world and document my experiences for YouTube. Although I still want to become a pilot, perhaps as a hobby, I want to pursue a career in Computer Science. I am going to apply to a university in Belgium. My dreams mainly revolve around traveling to every single country in the world (no pun intended, I promise). I would like to have experienced different cultures, tasted delicious varieties of food, and have met amazing people. I think that we have so much to learn from each other and can never learn enough.”
When asked about the flexibility of his schedule, he said, “I am mostly a night owl and feel SUPER productive during the night. So much that lockdown made me completely switch my schedule from the “normal” schedule everyone has to the ‘I sleep from 7 am to 4 pm and stay up all night’ schedule. Since I don’t have many courses or assignments left to do before my end date so I just work whenever I feel like (oh the perks of being VRP).”
Cason, another high school student who attends NSA full time, is a junior who has been here at NSA for almost a year and lives in Tennessee with his family. He said, “I take chemistry EVP so I can hear other students' questions, ask questions easier and learn in class.” But he attends all of his other classes as a VRP student. As for the future, he said, “I plan to go to music school and pursue a career there.” And in the true spirit of NSA flexibility, Cason foils Carlos nicely, saying, “I’m a morning person, I usually try to get up early and get school done soon so I can do other things.”
Peter is a seventh-grader in NSA’s middle school and has been here for two years now. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and is a VRP student, taking no EVP classes. He explained that “I do not really know why I don’t [take EVP classes], but I think the main reason is that I can have a more flexible schedule if I don’t. I am a night person and I like to wake up late and go to sleep late, too.” And although he still has a few years left before the ever-encroaching future of graduation and making decisions, Peter says, “I plan to go to college but I don’t know which one. I would like to be a pilot or a mechanic.”
Esther is a fifth-grader here at NorthStar who lives in South Korea with her mom, dad, and younger brother. This is her second year at NorthStar and at the moment, she works through her classes as a VRP student and takes no EVP classes. She said, “I am a morning person, I like to do things and work in the morning. But I sometimes sleep in, on the weekends only. As for the future, I do not really have an idea of what I want to do. But I do want to attend university.”
Social
Carlos says, he is not involved with anything at the school or teams. He does, however, “participate in Mrs. Ahmadzai’s weekly, ‘Fun Fact Friday.’ She brings a new topic that we can comment on every Friday.” He also added that “I have not made any friends through the student body, but I have seen some familiar faces in some of my classes. All the friends I have made at NSA were through classes. I do not attend any bible studies or meetings other than calls with teachers or one-on-one with some friends I have made.” Cason said that although he doesn’t attend any Bible studies or frequent meetings with other students on teams, and isn’t directly involved with any chats or clubs, he has made friends through the student body here.
Peter told me that although he is not a part of specific clubs or teams here at NSA, and wouldn’t say that he has necessarily met a bunch of friends here, he did say, “I have met a few of my sisters’ friends. (Chana, Esther, and Naomi)” Esther says “I do not attend bible studies or meetings because of the time zones though I would love to.” She says that she’s always looking for good calls in her time zone but wishes she could attend more. She says that she hasn’t quite made friends through the student body yet, but is involved in some of the teams chats and is a part of the reading club here at NSA.
Extracurricular
Sometimes we forget but every student has a life outside of NSA as well as one inside of it. We get a glimpse of our classmates' lives and personalities through the introduction discussions at the beginning of the semesters, but other than that, we’re just all fellow NSA students to one another. Carlos says, “I am very extroverted and love to hang out with friends all the time and watch the sunset occasionally.” He also likes “to spend free time learning and reading up on different languages and watching travel videos on YouTube.” Recently, Carlos admitted, “the government in Portugal, issued a lockdown so my life for the past month has just been: Wake up, sit in front of the computer, eat, sleep, and repeat. Outside of lockdown, I go to a brick-and-mortar school and practice all types of sports (my favorite sport is volleyball).”
Cason enjoys music and plays both the drums and the guitar. He also cleans at a couple of churches near him. Peter says that “I like to build legos and have Nerf wars but other than that, I do not do anything else outside of school regularly.” While Esther said, “I love to ride my bike, I go to an art academy, I have piano classes, and I play with my younger brother.”
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Karis T. lives in the Middle East with her parents and two of her three siblings. She is an 11th grader and has been a student at NorthStar for three years. She has been dancing for most of her life and is completely in love with the art of ballet. In addition to being a writer on the Navigator staff, Karis is also a member of the National Honor Society and works at her dance studio as a ballet teacher for 3-5 year olds. She hopes to pursue a career in athletic training or physical therapy in the future.