Seniors Reflect on Four Years At Arrowhead

Four years ago, the class of 2016 first walked into South Campus. Now, with the 2016 class of Warhawks getting ready to leave the nest, they’re looking back at the ups and the downs.

Throughout the Class Eight, Arrowhead is commonly known as that school. That school with the ice center, that school the massive football stadium, that school with the million dollar locker room. That school that goes undefeated year after year, that one with two campuses. With Arrowhead’s infamous reputation, one has to wonder how student life was affected.

“I don’t think that [the reputation] really affected my experience, overall, but I think that the stadium and the giant locker room definitely fed Arrowhead’s ego,” says senior Connor Schanen.

After all, it’s no secret that Arrowhead isn’t exactly popular among its rivals.

“My friends from Waukesha North have given me a hard time about [going to school at Arrowhead] before, but if anything I think it made us more competitive,” says Schanen.

On the other side, senior Gianna Natalizio said that having such well kept sports arenas made going to sporting events more fun.

Another thing that is obvious for Arrowhead students is how sports oriented this high school is. How has this athletic drive affected Arrowhead?

Natalizio says that, “Sports are everywhere. Luckily most of them are team oriented, but you definitely feel the pressure to join extracurriculars here.”

Schanen says that, “Of course, sports are a huge part of student life, just like at any other high school. But [at Arrowhead] I think it’s good because it encourages students to get involved and make friends in a school with such a massive population.”

Speaking of populations, it’s no little fact that with two campuses and over (how many??) students, that it’s easy to get lost in the crowd at Arrowhead.

“With so many of us, I think it was difficult for there to be as many cliques, or even a popular crowd,” says Schanen. “Even though there has still been rumors and drama, I think that a lot of people surfed between the boundaries of different groups which I’m really thankful for.”

“Believe it or not, I think having two campuses was a good thing for us,” says Natalizio. “By dividing the students up, it wasn’t intimidating as a freshman to come into high school. The only downside was that, even as a senior, I needed a map to find my classes.”

Despite mixed opinions on the largely populated school, with so many students, it’s no wonder that coming and going from the school causes so much back up.

“Oh the traffic is awful,” says Schanen.

Natalizio says, “I think that with so many students the amount of traffic is always going to be inevitable, but it still sucks. People turn into awful drivers while on campus.”

Nobody admitted they will  miss Arrowhead once their experience comes to a close.

Schanen says, “I did my four years of high school and I’m so relieved it’s almost over.”

“I’m sure I’ll look back and miss how close my friends were,” says Natalizio. “But nobody can blame us for wanting to get out of here.”