While I haven’t taken a single final exam during my time at Nueva, I believe that there are some very real ways to ace—or, to put it bluntly, perform mediocrely at—the Upper School. Over the past four years, I have found a few unnamed rubric standards to matter most for my “mastery” and “growth over time,” and I challenge younger Mavericks to put themselves to the test.
CONTENT KNOWLEDGE (33%):
Know as many names and stories as you can.
Did you know that English teacher Pearl Bauer, as a child, ate fertilized duck eggs in the dark? Or, that Eric Wang ’26 has a special knack for singing by breathing in—rather than the conventional method of breathing out? How about how third-grader Wesley Scott ’35 started the Nueva Pokémon Team with his dad, Dave Scott? I bet you didn’t know that math teacher John Carter spends his free time playing MagicSort on his iPad.
In my mind, being successful at Nueva is intrinsically intertwined with getting to know the unbelievably fascinating students, teachers, staff, and parents that surround us. Our community is made up of people who are uniquely and sincerely open to connection—and I just had to lean in.
SKILLS & PRACTICES (33%):
Be loved… and be loving.
At Nueva, I have found best friends who are the very definition of loyalty, confidence, and compassion. Peer tutors Anna Aganina ’25 and Jason Chen ’26 have saved my math grades countless times. Dean of Students Jackee Bruno, English teacher Regina Yoong, and a number of other adults have seen and helped me through some emotional breakdowns. Older students have taken me under their wing and mentored me in pursuing my passions for environmentalism, journalism, and filmmaking. Really, to me, being at Nueva is like a warm hug.
So, I try to hug and love back. Whether volunteering my weekend to help with admissions events, going up to the city to support English teacher Allen Frost in an orchestral concert, or literally bear-hugging my friends after a long weekend—I have learned that love at Nueva is a product of reciprocity, and I encourage future students to strive for walking this two-way street.
HABITS OF LEARNING (33%):
Practice nuance, nuance, nuance.
When I entered the Upper School, I was too confident in the views I held, and I reduced complex issues down to mere right-and-wrongs. Yet, when people challenged my beliefs over the past few years—my teammates in Ethics Bowl, the delegates I met while representing Nueva at California Girls State, history teacher Tom Dorrance in modern world history, Lee Holtzman in a confusingly philosophical SEL class, or my own father—my confidence steadily dwindled. For example, I learned that feminism and anti-racism are not the flawless movements I had once thought, and I realized that I actually hold a non-liberal perspective about certain political issues.
Nuance may be the most invaluable lesson that I’ve gained over my time at the Upper School. I’ve learned that the world, almost always, operates in shades of grey—and attempting to live in the grey zone means greater opportunity for connection across differences. I know firsthand that students at Nueva do not have to operate within echo chambers or shield themselves from “the other side,” so long as they begin with a mindset of embracing nuance.
