At UPrep, we take pride in being a community that embraces curiosity, creativity and individuality. Our current schedule reflects this identity, giving students an opportunity not just to learn, but to explore, to stretch beyond the daily grind of math and English classes, and discover new interests through intensives. The schedule we have now is all we current students have ever known; this is why the recent announcement of a schedule change struck such a nerve among students. In losing the spring intensive, it feels as though we are losing a small piece of what sets UPrep apart from our peer schools.

The new schedule feels especially significant because intensives represent more than just a break in routine. The new schedule promises more classes, more electives and more long-term opportunities to explore passions. On paper, it seems designed with our success in mind. However, for many students, intensives offer the freedom to experiment, the chance to dive deeply into something new and the creativity that comes from learning in unexpected ways. In losing one, we are losing half of those opportunities.

Frustration is valid, and dialogue is important. Communication is key when change is the topic; amongst students as well as communication with the administration allows for the most constructive path forward. But resilience is equally vital; UPrep students have always met challenges with determination. We know how to adapt, to embrace uncertainty and to find opportunity in difficulty. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, we were constantly changing, learning however we could, through Zoom classes, shifting schedules and reimagined classrooms. None of it was easy, but in doing so, we proved that flexibility is part of who we are as a community. As we face this new change, that flexibility will be tested again.

We have the right to be upset, but we also have the resilience to power through. We must trust that the team that built the new schedule did so with our futures and success in mind. More classes will be hard. Fewer breaks will be hard. Longer school days will be hard. But in learning to navigate these difficulties, we will be reminded of the qualities that define UPrep: curiosity, creativity and support for one another.