Ella Katz and Alexa Ramirez This past Monday morning, we met with former Whitney Young student Christina Pringle to discuss her transfer to Latin and her feelings about starting freshman year in the middle of the semester. It was an enlightening discussion in our opinion, as Christina has much insight on how to adapt to new environments, which can be a hassle. Her story goes a little like this: To start off the interview, we asked her to tell us about herself. She delightfully responded with, “My name is Christina Pringle. I have two twin 3-year-old siblings and a college brother. I love to write. I also enjoy dancing and playing the piano.” We then progressed by asking her the question of how her first impression between Whitney and Latin differed. Christina told us that, “My first impression of Whitney Young was an overwhelming sensation; It was such a big school, as there were 460 kids per grade. I was late to almost every one of my classes but more importantly I felt lost, like I had ended up in the wrong place which was frustrating after the high school application process” She then contrarily stated that, “My first impression of Latin was so different than that of Whitney Young. Latin was way more comfortable for me personally, due to the size being 125 students per grade. Further, it was fairly easy to find my way around the school as it was a perfect size, and everyone was very welcoming” Although everyone has different preferences, this remark about our class sizes was excellent to hear from a new student. As a follow-up question, we asked Christina about how her first experience between and Whitey and Latin differed? She responded with, “On the First day of Latin, having free periods was really nice. I had time to meet with my teachers, who were definitely more inviting and welcoming. The teachers here want you to meet with them, whereas at Whitney they didn’t care. Simply put, they don’t have the time and energy to do that with 460 kids per grade.” Our amazing teachers are definitely something we should be proud and grateful of. After, we asked her what she was considering when applying to high school, and what ultimately sealed the deal? “When applying, I wanted to have lots of options for classes. Whitney had lots of classes as well as many extracurriculars, so I thought it would be a good idea but turns out the bad outweighed the good for me.” Throughout time, her experience at Whitney must have fallen short of her expectations, so we asked how her expectations of Whitney changed as she went through the first quarter? “Mostly, I thought classes would be more discussion based but with time, I couldn’t find a feeling of comfort. That being said, I couldn’t find teachers who cared about me, I realized they weren’t as open as the teachers at Latin . . . they were late sometimes when we wanted to meet!” What piqued our interest was her past with Lab and the decision to switch to a CPS school. For this reason, we wondered what pushed her to attend a public school for high school when she attended Lab for most of her life? And what pushed her to transfer back to a private school? “I was just looking for a completely different experience … I wanted to feel different, but in the end, I was used to a private school setting and I realized I could still experience something new at Latin. Lab and Latin are already so different from each other.” We continued with this question: “Even if it’s only been about a quarter, what do you think are the essential differences and similarities between Whitney Young, Latin and Lab?” “Overall, they are all amazing prestigious school in Chicago. I just think some weren’t for me, and ultimately Latin was the best choice. The classes are smaller, you get a better learning experience and the pressure is limited. Whitney Young mostly focused on the social aspects like sports where you had to be good at it or you wouldn’t have any extracurriculars. At Latin, I don’t feel that pressure and instead I see a lot of room to grow, which I am so happy about.” Finally, we asked what might be the most important question anyone could ask: “how does the food at Whitney compare to Latin’s?” “Oh my God, Latin’s food is definitely way better than Whitney’s food … no doubt. Also better than Lab food. Latin’s is the best for sure.” We would like to thank Christina for giving some of her time to allow us and this school to get to know her as well as her experience between schools a bit better!]]>