By Dr. Elena Olsen, Inspire Contributor

The presence in our community of our lifers- students who attend Eastside Prep from fifth through twelfth grade—endures far beyond their graduation date. EPS Lifers of the Class of 2026 have made a lasting impact on the life of the school. They began new clubs, sang their hearts out on our stage and in the TALI atrium, helped design curriculum, led athletic teams to victory, and modeled grace when victory was elusive. Most importantly, they have nurtured Eastside Prep’s greatest strength: its vibrant community.

EPS Lifers model inclusivity and open-mindedness, two characteristics of healthy communities. Caden Nam states that she feels she has made an impact on EPS by “welcoming people with open arms [and] learning to be the person who breaks the ice.” Owen Steinglass comments, “EPS has been very intentional about creating a kind culture” and he has tried to contribute to sustaining that culture throughout his time at EPS.

Graduating EPS seniors often reflect on how their growth at EPS was not only about their personal development and achievement, but also how they were able to support and celebrate each other. Sydney Belfiore captures this reflection. “EPS has had a profound impact on who I’ve become both as a student and human being. EPS has taught me not only how to effectively study and thrive as a student, but how to advocate for myself and support others.”

Repeatedly, Class of 2026 Lifers comment on how their connections with others are the foundation of their wellbeing and success. Many recognize already that friendships begun in fifth grade will be lifelong. Gregory Tishkevich and Emily Liu each capture the most foundational and perhaps the most powerful community moment: “Meeting everyone for the first time,” in Gregory’s words, and “joining the community,” in Emily’s words, was their favorite aspect of their first year at EPS. Lifers also know that forging new friendships, just like new interests or goals, are as vital as maintaining long-lasting ones.

For Celine Chan, friendships are the best part of senior year. Reemah Karvir comments, “The best part of senior year is making new friendships you wish you had made earlier and strengthening old friendships.” For Jaanvi Ganapathy, one of the best parts of senior year is simply “knowing that EPS has become ‘my school.’ I’m part of a community here and I feel very comfortable around everyone.” Shruti Kancherla echoes Jaanvi’s sentiments: “My favorite part of senior year is the strong sense of community. Everyone knows each other, and it feels like you can talk to anyone. There’s an energy when someone gets into college, and it’s exciting to share those milestones with everyone.” Grace Liu echoes that sentiment, noting that in the supportive EPS community, she’s “met a lot of great people and made life-long friends.”

The Class of 2026 spent many months of their early Middle School years doing school from home, during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. Perhaps that is why they have shown such intentional involvement with the life of the school. Along with Emily and Grace, Kancherla co-founded the Girls Who Code Club in the Middle School, “to encourage younger female and non-binary students to explore coding,” after their experience as the only girls in programming classes and activities. Sophie Olson is among the founding members of the Yearbook Club and notes, “Seeing our work come to life for the school community is something we are all really proud of.” Anhat Bhutani loved helping to create new events like pep rallies and Town Halls to lift student voices: “These experiences have taught me what drives a community and how to channel those insights to create tangible change.”

Anhat has observed that EPS has “both structured and informal spaces where feedback is welcomed and encouraged,” so that student agency is a reality. Anhat and Piper Belfiore are two students who have impacted the school’s academic as well as extracurricular life, collaborating with teachers and administrators to help develop course content. Piper’s independent project, “Teaching America’s Mistake: Japanese Incarceration,” is curriculum now being taught in the sixth grade.

As a member of the girls’ soccer team and co-lead of the Biracial Affinity Group, Samantha Ryan has also found that her most rewarding experiences at EPS have been those in which she has connected with and advocated for others: “The biggest impact EPS has had on me is teaching me the importance of community—whether that means smiling at a teacher in the hallway, reaching out to someone who may be struggling, or making a conscious effort to help others feel welcome and included. Even on hard days or during stressful weeks, the small actions make a big difference, and that’s one of my favorite things about EPS and something I’ll carry with me moving forward.”

Warmth, connectedness, and initiative define Lifers’ actions throughout EPS. A particular strength of EPS students is their curiosity, which means that our classrooms are as lively as our hallways. Lifers lead the way in helping to create academic spaces that are defined by open-minded and open-hearted inquiry and collaboration. Joey Raskin comments that some of the funniest and most fun moments he has experienced at Eastside Prep have happened during “group projects and other coursework,” a highlight being his directing project, for which he recruited Mr. Bandel and Dr. Langer as actors.

Lifers know that the relationships they have formed with EPS teachers over the years will have lasting impact on their lives even beyond graduation. Benty Mohamed expresses gratitude for the “many great teachers who have really helped and inspired me to become the best student (and person) I can be.” Arav Patel feels that “the real highlight of senior year has been the shift in my relationships with teachers . . . now that the intense pressure of college admissions has leveled off, I’ve found a deeper joy in actually learning the material for its own sake.”

EPS Lifers have had eight years to Think Critically, Act Responsibly, Lead Compassionately, and Innovate Wisely, and many express the impact our school mission has had on their personal growth and worldview. Alex Simone puts it this way: “EPS has had an impact on me on how I view the world in the sense of Eastside Prep’s mission statement (TALI) as I am always able to come back to this statement and look at an issue from a different perspective allowing me to bring forth many new ideas.” For Arav, “EPS has played a pivotal role in my personal growth, specifically in cultivating my confidence and outgoingness. That journey really took off with my eighth-grade rap performance about climate change; having a supportive stage like EPS allowed me to discover a genuine love for public performance.” Piper expresses gratitude to all of her teachers at EPS, for helping her become a confident Spanish speaker, critical thinker, and writer.

And every graduating senior at EPS leaves an impact on the school, whether or not they are aware of that impact. EPS Lifers along with their classmates will leave EPS a better place for their time here: clubs and affinity groups that thrive because of their leadership, art spaces on campus that are more vibrant, teachers who have learned from them. Arnav Garg echoes Sophie’s pride in their stewardship of Eastside Prep’s yearbook, looking back on how “much of my time [spent] editing photos” as one of the most rewarding experiences of his high school career. Alex Stone’s greatest extracurricular involvement has been with the Young Men’s Affinity Group and he, along with many other of its graduating members, are grateful for having been able to have an impact in making the EPS community stronger and more affirming for everyone. Tegan Hogg’s involvement with the soccer team and the Peer Mentors program stands out as most significant to her, as she looks ahead to a career goal of becoming a pediatrician.

Whatever these students go on to accomplish in life, we have no doubt they will carry out the vision of Eastside Prep and help create a better world. We hope that Grace achieves her goal of climbing Mt. Everest. We foresee Arav “keeping life interesting through creative pranks and humor” as he pursues a career in technology consulting. We have no doubt that Piper will continue to be “LOUD” in speaking her mind. Thank you for all you have contributed, EPS Lifers of the Class of 2026, and congratulations!