Meet Morike 

Class of 2020
Boarding Student
Hometown: Yorktown, Virginia

 

 

 

Extracurricular Activities

  • Peddie Swim Team (3 years)
  • Peddie News Editor
  • Student Ambassador
  • Community Service
  • EXP (Neuroscience)
  • Gold-Key Society Member

My Life at Peddie

In 2016, I had a big decision to make – where to spend the next four years of my academic and athletic growth.  After visiting Peddie once, I knew I was on the right track to make that decision; and after receiving my acceptance letter and visiting campus one more time, I knew Peddie would be the place I would call “home” for my high school years.

For me, Peddie offers the full package. I'm a swimmer and Peddie has a very competitive year-round swim team. Coupled with really great academics, each day I am reminded that I made the right choice.  Each year, Peddie has felt more and more like home; my friends are here, it's where I spend most of my time.

I'm a leader of the ESL (English as a Second Language) program, which is a community service initiative. Most Fridays you’ll find me at a church in town teaching English to immigrants; I’ve been doing this since my freshman year, and it is one of the most rewarding things that I’ve participated in at Peddie.”

My "Typical" Day

 
7:00 a.m.
Wake up and get ready for the day
7:30 a.m.
Breakfast time with my friends
8:00 a.m.
AP Calculus
9:00 a.m.
U.S. History
10:20 a.m.
Chapel, Community Meeting or free time
10:45 a.m.
Free
11:20 a.m.
English
12:15 p.m.
Lunch time – a quick bite or time to share another meal with friends
1:20 p.m.
AP Biology
2:20 p.m.
Spanish
4:00 p.m.
Swim practice
6:00 p.m.
Dinner with my swim team
7:00 p.m. 
Enjoy evening events on campus - basketball games, poetry readings, art shows, plays...and so much more!
8:30 p.m.
Back at the dorm and study hall
10:30 p.m.
Finish up studying, chat with friends, relax
11:30 p.m.
Lights out

Classes and Dorm Life

 

I really enjoy my classes at Peddie.  There are several that I feel I do my best in, including:  AP biology; AP Calculus; Drawing, Design and Painting; and English.  

I love AP biology mostly because I want to study neuroscience in college.  It’s a topic I am very passionate about, which is why I really enjoy the coursework and the experiments we do in the lab.  Math was never my strong suit, but the way they teach it at Peddie makes it fun. It's very rewarding when you finally figure out a problem, and also realize that it’s not, "Oh we're never going to use this in our lives," because we are.

I really enjoy my art class.  It’s sort of meditation for me, a chance for the brain to relax and just get creative with paint and pens/pencils.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, English class engages and challenges me and my classmates in deep discussions on such topics as politics and literature.  Our discussions are great, especially because everyone's so diverse, so I hear the viewpoints of others from many different backgrounds.

At Peddie, we have great support from teachers and advisors, yet Peddie students are still expected to be able to manage their workload and allocate their time between their classes, athletics and extracurriculars. That helps Peddie students to excel at balancing and being independent workers who know when and how to ask for help.

For me, Peddie is community.  As a boarding student, I get to see and live this out 24/7. I love my fellow students – whether it’s my classmates, my friends, or my dorm groups. We eat, share experiences, and hang out with each other. On the weekends we enjoy going to see a movie, roller-skating, or shopping. When someone has a big project coming up, we’ll just relax in the dorms, watch a movie on Netflix and then do our work. I wouldn't trade being a boarder for anything.

Overall, it’s the Peddie culture that is special for me – the people I surround myself with – teachers, classmates and coaches. I have such a great relationship with all of them.  No matter what, there's always someone at Peddie to share an experience with.

What I think about...

  • Peddie culture:  A strong, vibrant community. Something's always happening on campus, and everyone's close.

  • Peddie faculty: They're really great. They invest so much of their time and effort into helping you succeed. It's not uncommon to see teachers stay late just so they can help you figure out something you've been struggling with. My swim coaches, advisor and club leaders are always there and so supportive.

  • Peddie Dorm Prefects: I love my dorm prefects. They're really and helpful, especially when you need someone to talk to who's older and more experienced at Peddie.

  • Peddie Students: They are diverse in the best ways possible. Some of us are so talented academically, or in sports, music or art. We're also diverse in our personalities because students come from so many different backgrounds, countries and states.

Spotlight: The Peddie Swim Team

The swim team at Peddie is like nothing I've experienced before. The team is extremely supportive and has really helped to make me feel at home. I've been on many swim teams before and none of them compare to how strong the swim team community is here at Peddie.

I've been swimming since I was 18 months old. I started taking swim lessons because I was jumping into the pool without my floaties and my mom was concerned that I need to learn how to swim. I started on a swim team around seven or eight years old, and that's when I got into competitive swimming. 

Peddie swimming is very demanding. We have morning practices a couple of times a week along and long swim meets on weekends. It is that structure and demand that has helped me with time management and made me more self-reliant and determined. Being in an environment where I have teammates who are always pushing me to be my best - in and out of the pool - has strengthened me both mentally and physicially.