Student Profiles

“I wanted to be a pioneer.” That’s what Demetra says about choosing wrestling as her winter sport.

“I got interested during the Middle School meeting for winter sports. I was looking at volleyball and basketball, but I really got curious about wrestling. I asked the coach some questions, and he said that the league accepted girls about a year ago, but no girls at BB&N had tried out yet. He told me if I went out for it I would be the first girl in BB&N history. That appealed to me a lot. I don’t feel uncomfortable about it. I talked about it with the boys, and now they’re comfortable with it, too. All my friends supported me, so it’s all good.”

Demetra entered BB&N as a new seventh grader, and, with characteristic confidence, she describes a smooth transition into her new school. She chose BB&N because she liked the rigorous classes. She says, “All the kids here take their classes seriously, but it’s easy to make friends, too. Everybody is very welcoming. Everybody talks to everybody, so we just make friends. There is a lot of visiting outside of school, too.”

It is her work in the classroom, though, that gives Demetra the most satisfaction. “When I got my report card, I was really proud of my grades. I spend about two hours per night on homework, which is about the same as I had before, but here the work is harder. I enjoy the challenge of advanced math.”

Her math teacher, Ms. Dorkin, is also her advisor. Demetra enjoys that she and Ms. Dorkin spend time outside of class talking about school and life in general, but they really connect in the classroom. “Ms. Dorkin has helped me with some tough problems, and she always takes me seriously,” she says. “I try my best even if it’s hard, but I get really excited when I get a problem right. My motto is: keep trying hard and then everything will turn out the way you want it to be.”