Nathan Carpenter, a current senior, came to La Salle as a freshman right as COVID-19 reached its peak in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on students worldwide, but it had a significant impact on Carpenter. “I think everyone struggled during lockdown,” he said. “I was especially lonely.”
La Salle was a lot more on top of online learning than many public schools, which is one of the many reasons why Carpenter settled on coming here. “The main reason I came to La Salle was because of how integrated technology was,” he said. “[Having] a school that was already very integrated with technology allowed distance learning to actually be effective.”
Carpenter’s extracurricular activities include clubs, especially the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) club, of which he is a student leader.
Carpenter first got into D&D in middle school. “I watched a lot of other people I knew play it, and I thought it seemed like a lot of fun,” he said. Carpenter also plays D&D during his free time outside of his time in the D&D club. “[It is] something I enjoy a lot,” he said.
One of Carpenter’s favorite things about the D&D club is the friendships he has made and sustained through it. “I made my first friends in the Dungeons & Dragons club,” he said. “[And] that was how I got introduced to all the friends I have now.”
One of Carpenter’s favorite hobbies is drawing digital art on his iPad. He also enjoys the Makers Club, especially the freedom that comes with it. “Going into the IDC, creating anything you want using any of those machines,” he said. “I think that’s a lot of fun.”
In academics, Carpenter is taking a variety of classes such as AP Chemistry, AP Calculus AB, Economics, Art Foundations, and English IV.The homework load for Carpenter “can get to be a bit much at times,” he said. “Especially right now, right before November because we have a lot of stuff that starts happening.”
Like many seniors, Carpenter is feeling the strain of college applications, but overall he thinks La Salle’s teachers give a fair amount of work. Carpenter enjoys having two days between each class because it allows him to finish what he is able to on the first day and ask teachers for help if required.
Out of all his high school years, Carpenter’s favorite year was junior year because “there was lots of fun stuff going on,” he said. “I had a lot of classes I really enjoyed.”
Looking forward to the rest of the year, Carpenter is looking to head to Oregon State University for college because “it is a very good school for sciences,” he said. Once there, he plans to study Nuclear Engineering because of his interest in the Robotics club, which he is an active member of.As far as advice for new high school students goes, Carpenter says to be “around people that support you, but also support your academics and don’t distract or stop you from doing well.”
