Student Voice: Aniket Joshi ’25

Aniket Joshi ’25 shared these remarks at the 8th Grade Celebration in May 2021.

Hello teachers, staff, friends, and parents of the Class of 2025. I am Aniket Joshi, reflecting upon my middle school experience here at MICDS.

I joined MICDS in the 6th grade. I remember the first day of school, where the environment was warm and welcoming, especially in my advisory class. My advisor, Ms. Vogel, treated me with kindness and respect, and I saw this pattern with my other advisors throughout the last three years. As nice as the teachers are, the physical space of the school is also very appealing. I really like open space in MAC, which allowed me to run around a lot and get active. Unfortunately, the big campus made me mix up my flex locations a couple of times and at one point I went to the wrong class!

I felt that I could be open to anyone here and they would listen, especially the numerous number of questions I ask in advisory and other classes! My dad says it’s because of his genes that I ask so many questions. Strangely enough, it’s my mom who helps me find most of the answers!

I grade myself as the perfect student of MICDS Middle School…if you count out the few times I had gotten in trouble. Joking aside, It was nice that all of the teachers gave me second and third chances to learn and improve myself. I appreciated all of the helpful advice I received from my teachers, like my 6th grade math teacher, Mr. Zell, had said, “Trust your instincts.”

Speaking of teachers, many of mine had taglines. Mr. Clarke’s was “I am bad to the bone.” Mr. Duvall calls me “Big A” when I see him in the hallway. Mrs. Stanton would always say “Fri-Yay!” instead of “Friday!” To all you teachers out there, if you don’t have a tagline, get one. Really, it’ll make you more popular!

Often we also had to work in groups, and that helped us learn teamwork and how to be a leader. It helped me forge bonds of friendship with my classmates that I still have today. I not only learned from my teachers but from my friends as well, as they taught me how to take a joke among other things.

For someone like me who is a visual learner, I really liked that most of the Middle School classes had hands-on, interactive activities. For example, When we were studying the Civil War in 6th grade history class, Mr. Duvall brought a diorama of the Civil War battlefield with flags indicating which side had won which battle, which I thought was pretty cool!

In 7th grade science, Mr. Clark asked us to make a model of a cell and then use scratch coding and Makey-makey motherboards to make it interactive.

In MICDS there was also a large variety of after-school activities that I could participate in, my personal favorites being Lego Robotics and Squash. These after-school activities allowed me to explore new interests that I never even knew I had.

Spanish and Latin classes helped me to learn different cultures and languages around the world.  The arts programs allowed me to express myself through acting, drawing, and by playing an instrument.

When the pandemic ravaged this country, the whole School had to go into virtual learning during March 2020. It was definitely not enjoyable as I had to stare at a screen for hours, but the teachers’ ingenuity and flexibility to find ways to teach, as well as still being able to communicate to my friends made the experience a little more pleasant. I am grateful that the School was flexible enough to allow in-person learning now which finally allowed me to reconnect with my teachers and some of my friends. I am looking forward to seeing everyone in person next year.

In times of hardship, this community of kindness at MICDS taught me that anything is possible. My teachers have watched and helped me grow and shape me into the person I am today. As my 6th grade science teacher Mr. Shaw said: “If it is to be, it is up to me.” My Middle School experiences will stay with me as I go into high school, and teach me life lessons along the way.

I would like to congratulate all of the 8th grade students for completing their Middle School journey. Or, should I say, OUR Middle School journey.

Thank you, MICDS, for being a center of knowledge, kindness, and diversity.