Going into her third year at Darlington, senior and Head Prefect of Thornwood House, Evelyn Fuenmayor Contreras feels both excitement for the future and what’s to come, but also sorrow about leaving her life and friends here at Darlington in order to start a new chapter of her life.

“Being a senior is really great and you definitely become closer to your class when you realize that it is your last year here together and it’s definitely been like a burst in my bubble,” Contreras said. “Senior year has become like a wake up call for me and I’ve realized that I’m about to go into the real world. It’s not only gonna be my parents supporting me all the time anymore and I’m gonna have to take more responsibilities myself.”

As Head Prefect of Thornwood House, Contreras feels that she has been able to help out in the dorms as a friend and at the same time been an involved leader in the Darlington community.

“I wanted to be a leader at Darlington, but I still wanted to be a friend to the girls in the dorm and a part of the dorm, so being head prefect was a great way for me to do that,” Contreras said.

During her years here, Darlington has helped her develop as a person and helped her gain life experiences that she’ll be glad to have, stepping into the future.

“Darlington definitely taught me to be more responsible and serious about my studies, it taught me that the world is very competitive and if you don’t put effort in it, you’re not gonna make it as far as the people who do put effort in it, no one else will create my future for me,” Contreras said. “Also, Darlington has really taught me so many things about people and leadership and service as well, and I think that these are abilities that I will be able to use in the future, especially college as I try to be a part of the college community. Darlington has been a big part of me socializing and being more a part of the community.”

Looking forward, Contreras plans to gain lots of experiences by traveling and studying around the world after college.

“After graduation at Darlington I’m gonna go to college straight away and gain a lot of experience from that, then after college I want to get some work experience and travel, travel the world, like studying abroad in Europe or maybe Norway,” Contreras said.

High school might seem like forever, but the years will fly by and be over before you know it. Contreras encourages underclassmen to be aware of this and make their years count, but not to forget to have fun.

“Get involved! Make friends and be close to your classmates. Everyone has their different friend groups but you will have more in common with other people in your class than you think you do, even if they’re a day student or a dorm student, everyone has more in common than they think.” Contreras said. “I would also say – don’t stress I as a person do stress a lot about little things and anything, but especially during my underclassmen years. I think you should really enjoy your time here, treat yourself and have fun!”