What Does MICDS Mean to Senior Lilly Loeb?

MICDS welcomed hundreds of families to our campus for our annual Open House on Saturday, October 5. The event provided an opportunity for prospective students and their families to learn more about our School. To portray the student perspective, senior Lilly Loeb ’25 described what MICDS means to her with the following remarks at Open House 2024.

Hi everyone. I hope you all are having a great day so far. My name is Lilly Loeb and I am one of the student council co-heads for this school year. I’ve been here at MICDS since sixth grade, so this is my seventh year. I’ll be up today to talk about what MICDS means to me.

So, as I just said, I first came to MICDS in the sixth grade. What I remember the most was that there were only a few other students entering MICDS at the time, so I was a little nervous. I was also nervous because I was moving from overseas, and I didn’t know what to expect, but in the end, it took me less than a few weeks to feel at home. I made friends with people super similar to me but also with people very different from me, too. I learned with them, but I also had a great time laughing and joking around with them at lunch tables and between classes. Specifically, I remember that during my first year here, I had to get foot surgery, so I was in a wheelchair for a few days at school. As you could expect, I was so scared to go to school. So the first day back, I was stressed. I had to enter the school through a back entrance because it was a shorter distance to my locker, and when I came in, I saw at least half the class in the hallway where we would normally enter, waiting for me. After a few seconds, I was noticed by them, and all of a sudden, they came running down the hallway to find me and ask how I was. They were so eager to hear about my experience, asking me if I needed anything, if they could push my wheelchair, how the surgery went, and more. I felt so welcome into a community, one that at that point I was relatively new to, but that didn’t seem to matter to them. One thing that makes MICDS so special to me is that we care in a really heartfelt way.

That’s just one example of the community MICDS has to offer. Another thing about MICDS that I love is how we value the quality of our teachers. I have never ever had an experience with a bad teacher. And I’m not just saying that, I really do mean it. The teachers here are always so focused on our well-being. Whether that takes the form of someone like Mr. B, who is known for his immense love for math but who cares even more for his students. He is so proud of his students and their accomplishments that, over the course of the year, he will take photos from MICDS’ Weekly News and tape the photos up on his classroom’s window, so everyone walking by can see all that we have accomplished that year. Or, there’s someone like Mr. Asher, whose method of showing appreciation for his students is by joking with them. For example, whenever I see him, he bows down to call me “Madam President.” The care our teachers have is also seen through Dr. Hansen. One time, after viewing the daily schedule and seeing I had a time-consuming sports event, asked me if I needed an extension on my paper without me asking her first. It’s the little things that make the lasting impressions, and the teachers here, day after day, have done the little things that count to make this place so welcoming.

Another aspect that I think is important to mention is the way we engage with our community. I can give an example about how this has become even more true recently because we have a new phone policy this year. Last year, we were able to use our phones in school during our free time, but now, they are away from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. And though many students were reluctant about having to give up phones during the school day, myself included, we are now all so much closer. The lunchroom is so much louder. People take walks outside with one another in their free time instead of scrolling on Instagram. MICDS makes deliberate decisions to bring our community closer together, and it works. Personally, my screen time has gone down an hour and a half each day, because if I don’t use my phone at school, I’m not as inclined to use it at home, and so in that way, MICDS’ impact extends beyond the school walls into so many other places.

One final thing I’d like to highlight is MICDS’ dedication to athletics. Not only do we have a lot of pride in our ability to play well, but we also take it very seriously while still being able to have fun at the same time. Here, we have the courage to try new things. One of my best friends just recently joined the golf team for her first year as a senior. MICDS is a place where we can always try new things, even sports. I have made some of my best friendships through playing sports here, and our athletic teams become such a family.

So, in my final year of high school, I can see that MICDS has shaped who I am immensely. It has taught me to be caring like my teachers, to be eager and willing to learn, and to also enjoy myself. And for whatever comes next for me, I know the things I have learned here will help me there. Thank you.