Senior Story, Ian McCall - Class of 2019

I’m Ian McCall and this is my 6th year at New Covenant. Ever since I came here, I’ve always felt that this school provides a healthy experience for the student. I never see significant divides between groups of students. Multiple grade levels sit at the same table, students always try to provide company to those sitting by themselves, and differences in personality don’t set students back from interacting as a team. This has resulted in a strong community where a large portion of the students know each other personally.

The methodology of teaching the student how to think is one aspect of the school that has had a positive impact on both my spiritual and academic life. By asking us why we believe something or why something is the answer, the classes provide more in-depth understanding of the subject matter. Pure memorization is not conducive to a good high school education, and because of this, New Covenant has implemented logical aspects into its upper-level classes to better prepare the student to think for himself while learning things later in life.

To me the major highlight of this school is being able to go beyond the words of the textbook, so if there is a concept that we didn’t explicitly cover in class I can expect to be able to ask about it and get a detailed answer.

For example, if I understand the material in Physics but I become curious about how it applies in a certain case, I don’t have to be afraid to ask and usually I am satisfied with the response I get.

Once I graduate from NCS I plan to study Computer Science at Clemson University with the goal of being a game designer. I think this school has prepared me well for college because of the extensive practice I’ve had writing essays, taking exams, and building friendships. Obviously college is an entirely different environment compared to high school, but the teachers at New Covenant have always emphasized that point and have tried to make the transition as. smooth and as comfortable as possible

Overall I would say that New Covenant has done a good job not just teaching the students, but also by being a friendly community. Even though the real world is going to be significantly different from the experience here, I strongly believe that the foundation that we receive while we’re growing up is the most influential part of building our character for the future, a key idea that NCS has utilized quite well.