Text from Senior Week ’22 by Sunny Trivits

Good evening.

Every week, I look forward to my favorite day - Wednesday.

Not because it’s Hump day or because I am counting down the days until the weekend, but because that is when St. Andrews goes out into the middletown community to volunteer and help people.  

Wednesdays for me meant singing ‘Let it go’ to a little girl who wouldn’t stop crying in the pool(and helping her blow her nose), Wednesdays meant teaching people how to swim butterfly and dive into the pool who have never attempted that skill before, Wednesdays meant I would help people learn the essential life saving skill of swimming, and Wednesdays meant smelling like bromine for the rest of the day.

I love Wednesdays because we fulfill our mission as a school which states “We urge students to be actively involved in community service with the understanding that all members of the community share responsibility for improving the world in which we live.” 

Volunteering is optional, meaning we do not get ‘hours to graduate’, but we do it out of grace. We at St. Andrew’s School have ample privileges and resources that we need to give back to the larger community that we are a part of. We volunteer not because of a reward, but because volunteering itself is a reward. Service is essential to me and the whole community because when we commit to others, we develop accountability. We form true connections, friendships, and mentorship  when we come alongside others. When we celebrate each other we become one and that forms love and appreciation. When we are with each other we seek to understand, find unity, and empathy.

I’d like to say thank you to Mr. Hutchinson and Ms. Lazar for helping inspire us students to give back to something larger than ourselves. Thank you to El Richards and Edmund Cayley for running the large community service programs, thank you to Adelaide Dixon and William Wrightson for leading mentoring, thank you to Adele Auchincloss and Aunyae Romeo for leading adaptive Dance, thank you to all of the faculty, staff and especially, A special thanks to Karen Wright and Steve Gue for transporting us every Wednesday to our designated locations. Thank you to all the student body for volunteering your time throughout the year.

Finally, thank you to Madison Macalintal for being my partner and helping me lead adaptive athletics. I was so sad when I heard we wouldn't be in the pool this year, but thank you for telling me to not quit Adaptive aquatics freshman year, because I wanted to. You have inspired me to do more with my time and I am going to miss our Wednesday pool adventures with Cody and Emily! To peers, adults and especially the underclassmen, Volunteer this summer, Volunteer when you return in the fall, start something new, ask questions, ask for help, and opt-in.

You are left in great hands. Thank you all again!

- Sunny Trivits ’22