Student Work

by Molly Mullen

When it comes to the causes of mental illness in today’s age, social media is the first thing that gets blamed. Yes, it can lead to illness due to the effects of comparison, editing apps, and more, however there are even more causes right in our backyard.

Senior Maya Collins at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy stresses over a summer assignment in the Indiana University commons area. Photo by Molly Mullen.

High schools have been persistently adding more and more pressure on students, sometimes without even realizing it. Advisors push resume building, perfect grades, volunteering and extracurriculars, which is helpful to some students. However, these constant suggestions can add on to already full schedules for students. Especially with the environment commonly referred to as a “pressure cooker” at Holy Trinity, there is constant stress on every student to attend college.

At HT, it is required to get accepted into at least one college in order to graduate, although the student does not have to attend the school. According to the Holy Trinity website, roughly 93% of the classes of 2018-2022 have attended a four-year college, along with other statistics representing out-of-state school and private college attendees.

“I think that the environment of HT fosters competition more heavily than it should, and I think that it places a lot of pressure on students to be better than your classmates instead of collaborating with your classmates to be a better student in general,” senior Maya Collins said. “I think that those pressures make it harder to just learn and be successful,” Collins said.

Not to mention, it can be easy to feel like a failure at a college preparatory school. For instance, if a student doesn’t want to go to college or they don’t get into the college of their choice, they face the risk of letting down their parents and school administrators.

“I think that our school places a heavy focus on building the next generation of STEM workers, especially doctors and engineers and a lot of those STEM-centered careers,” Collins said. “I’m not a person who wants to go into those fields, so I think that I’ve really had to make sure that I’m clear with my family and also my teachers about what I want.”

Senior Brayden Seitz also commented on how his parents pay a lot of money for him to attend the school, so he feels the need to return the favor by doing his personal best. However, some students appreciate the stressful environment, as they feel it’s what makes them the most successful.

“I think that adding the college application stuff and college and resume stuff kind of adds stress but at the same time it’s pushing your rising seniors and 11th graders, and even your 10th graders, maybe, to go do more activities for the community,” Seitz said. “It’s getting you to set yourself up for more success in your future.”

Although helpful to some, difficult classes and piling homework leads to sleepless nights becoming a regular occurrence. “Rigorous college preparatory academics” are boasted on the website, and Holy Trinity currently offers 29 Advanced Placement (AP) classes in which students are advised to start taking their freshman year of high school.

Multiple students play a number of sports and participate in extracurriculars as well. This is not something that time management can fix, as there are simply not enough hours in the day since teenagers need an average of eight to ten hours of sleep each night according to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.

“I play varsity volleyball and I run varsity track and field, and I also play volleyball outside of school,” Collins said. “I usually get home close to ten and then I eat dinner and start my homework then.”

Burnout is especially common in teenagers. According to mental health writer and therapist Kathleen Smith, roughly 51% of teenagers in America have been told at least once a month that they either look tired or stressed.

Senior Milli Patel reports that she grew up participating in school activities and other extracurriculars, and that by going into middle and high school at HT, she experienced a change.

“The pressure from everybody else and the pressure from classes has made that passion that I’ve had from a young age deteriorate,” Patel said.

Burnout comes in many different forms, such as pulling back from previously cherished passions and hobbies, which can then lead to isolation and depression.

Although there is a lot of pressure that comes with attending a college preparatory school, there are also a lot of plus sides.

With staff that is ready to assist a student at any time, teachers that hold required office hours, and tutors that are on hand in specialized areas of study, students are able to reap the benefits that their tuition pays for on a daily basis.

“If you’re not getting stressed about doing anything then you’re never going to do it,” said Seitz.

The teachers push their students to be the best they can be to create the future that they want, and the staff in the front office and college office do their best to help students achieve their dreams.

Holy Trinity truly helps students to start here and go anywhere, but there should also be limits set in order to prioritize students’ mental health, such as limiting the amount of homework that can be assigned on a single night and eliminating homework assignments on the weekends.