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With local high schools holding their commencement ceremonies this week, the Voice wanted to hear from graduating seniors about what their high school experience has been like.
Below is a Q&A interview with Mountain View High School senior Wesley Harwell, who reflected on his experience at the school. Answers have been edited for style and clarity.
What is your favorite memory from high school?
My favorite memory from high school was the playoff run that we had with the baseball team at the end of my senior year.
To see how much the guys that I’ve played with throughout the last four years have grown, and to have it culminate in a run to the state semifinals this year, was amazing. It felt like everything that I’d been through throughout the last couple years that had me wondering where my baseball career would end up paid off. It was great to lead my team through the games that I pitched during the playoffs.
What’s a word that describes your senior year?
“Unpredictable.” At the beginning of the year, I had no idea how it was going to go. I was working on committing to a college to play baseball, and it seemed like my whole first semester revolved around working towards that.
When I was finally able to do so during the baseball season and commit to the University of San Francisco I thought things would be easier, but the way that the year ended was also really crazy. I wasn’t expecting to still be playing school baseball while going through the senior activities and getting ready for graduation.
What song defines your senior year?
I don’t know a song that would describe my senior year, but definitely something loud and fast-paced. It felt like a race to do everything that I could, and balance it with baseball, before I graduated high school.
Which class do you think prepared you most for life after high school?
My macroeconomics class. Because I am majoring in economics in college, it was good for me to learn about a lot of the things that I am going to be focusing on for the next four years. I think my teacher did a really good job of applying what we learned in class to the real world so that will also help me as I go on past high school.
Finish this sentence: “In 10 years I’m going to be…”
In ten years I will hopefully still be playing baseball or coaching if I can. I am not planning on having these next four years playing baseball be my last. Outside of that, I am hoping to work in finance and get a job that involves me in economics.
What’s the top piece of advice that you would give to incoming high schoolers?
Really have fun and enjoy it. Make sure you value the time you spend with your friends and family and at school, because it goes by faster than you think. Do your schoolwork and spend the rest of the time making memories and doing the most you can with the opportunities you have to be with your friends. Make sure you don’t get caught up with the pressure of taking hard classes and getting really good grades, because things will work out if you are just smart about your time.
What are you most proud of accomplishing or overcoming in high school?
What really defined a big part of my life the last couple years were health issues that I had from getting COVID-19. It made me unable to play baseball for months because I just felt so sick.
When I came back it felt like I had to relearn how to love and play the game again. In school I couldn’t concentrate on my work. I was so tired all the time that it felt like I was drowning in schoolwork and baseball training, things that I would usually be able to do perfectly fine.
It took me over a year to feel normal and healthy again. People (myself included) were wondering if I could ever come back and be the same talented baseball player that I was before.
Now seeing the season that I just had, and having my college commitment to show for it, is just really satisfying to me because of how close I was to giving up on it altogether two years ago.
Check out this year’s list of Mountain View High School graduates and read our article about the graduation ceremony.
For all of our graduation coverage, go to our central graduation page.