Nativity Knight to a Bancroft Bulldog

My name is Joell Darkwa and I am a part of this year’s graduating Ellacuria class.

When I look back at my 5th grade year, I think about the fun memories ranging from field trips to all the community service events with all my classmates and friends. I also think about the first-year experience, which had a mix of emotions. Emotions that left me happy, surprised, and curious about these next 4 years.

When I look back at my 6th grade year, I think about how crazy the global pandemic was and all the different experiences people were facing through it all each day. I did have an overall fun experience as me and my friends played games on zoom, and often times talked about things going on in the world while having debates.

When I look back at my 7th grade year, I think about the return to in person learning at Nativity and all the things we couldn’t do this last year. It was a change from all previous years since we had to take a lot of precautions due to the pandemic like wearing a mask every day, different lunch/snack norms along with many other things. We spent a lot of time together and it made it fun and made things feel more normal than my last year. This school year gave me hope and excitement for my next year at Nativity.

When I look back at my 8th grade year, I think about the high school application process. It was very informative and great to be a part of. I liked all the lessons that were taught to me and had an even better time applying them to the process. When the day finally came when we got word of our acceptances it was ALL worth it.

For the future, when I attend Bancroft, I want to continue to be what Nativity taught me to be. I want to stay in touch with all my Nativity brothers since I had a great 4 years with them. As I finish up my last few weeks, I want to leave you with advice for all your future endeavors; surround yourself with positivity.

Thank you all for reading!

– Joell Darkwa