My experience being a rising junior at Airport High School

by Brandis S.

Everyone wonders what their high school experience will be like, if they will fit in with the cliques and who they´ll sit with at lunch. Going into high school is a scary experience, lots think they won't even survive it. When you get here, is it really as bad as everyone made it out to be? In this article, I’ll discuss my personal experiences in an effort to shed light on the high school vibe as a whole.

My name is Brandis Sulton, I'm a sophomore, and today I am here to explain my experiences as an Airport High School student. Coming into highschool was very worrisome for me. Walking through those huge glass doors on the first day made my stomach twirl. You really have no idea what to expect. You don’t have any idea where to find your classes, and when you get there you don’t know anything about your teacher or classmates.

Here at Airport High we have great academics, with our graduation rate being 85%. Each semester I have taken 4 classes and passed them all with B’s or higher. All the teachers have their own unique ways of teaching to help the students learn and I personally know that because none of them have let me miss a beat. Whenever I was confused most teachers here, even if it wasn’t mine, always found some way to make me understand. Airport is one of the top ranked high schools in West Columbia, South Carolina based on the schools combined math and reading proficiency test score rankings according to Public School Review.

With Brooklyn Cayce being our biggest rivals, Airport is #21 for best public high schools for athletes, according to the website Niche. From what I have seen I would agree to disagree. Either way all our sports teams are hard working players, with some being better than others. Everyone loves going to see the games. Our arena is always packed, from the student section all the way wrapped around. Airport sports teams act as family, and they all play to win!

Despite that, being a student here at Airport High is never boring. You see new things every day. Sometimes you may even question what you’re doing here. For the two years I have attended here I've seen plenty of fights, been through dog searches, seen the bathrooms piled up with bunches of girls as they scurry out to stalls together, students cars searched and then them being put in handcuffs, bomb threats and much more crazy situations. Did anyone ever think high school life was gonna be like this? I sort of had a feeling, but what I’ve experienced is nothing like what was going through my head.

At first going to school here was hectic and sometimes made me fear for my well-being. After being here for a few years now and really getting to feel what it’s like I have learned you have to get comfortable with the surroundings. Going to school at Airport High, you just have to trust your administrators and school SRO’s will keep you safe.