DEFINITION
Andy (adjective): a good balance between work and play.

QUESTIONS
What have been your favorite classes at Mercersburg?
French, because Ms. Prescott is such a dynamic teacher who inspires her students to reach farther than they thought possible. Theatre40: Because Ms. Mufson and my classmates always have a good time learning about acting and theatre—I would rather have this class than have a break. And English with Mr. Applebaum: It’s a really fun class and Mr. Applebaum is an awesome teacher.

What was the class you're glad you took but never want to take again?
Statistics. It was good to finally learn a math that is used in the real world, but this class is way too tedious.

What are your favorite places on campus?
The 4th floor of Keil is secluded from the rest of campus, above everyone else in the school. Me and my friends lived up there together; it was similar to a fraternity house. I also remember many good times I had on the Outdoor Stage—it is in an amazing location. And the Chapel. I loved spending time in that magnificent building with the undercroft and the carillon tower and underground passages—it’s very peaceful and the acoustics are great.

What's been your proudest moment at Mercersburg?
Getting into UCLA!

If you could offer one piece of advice to an incoming student, what would it be?
Don’t restrict your learning to the classroom.

Why did you want to go to boarding school?
Where I’m from, pretty much everybody goes to boarding school—my brothers went; it’s an accepted part of life. I went along on interviews and tours at the places my brothers looked at, but I wasn’t really looking for anything myself because I’d wanted to go to St. George’s really bad since sixth grade.

I like the ocean, and St. George’s is right next to the water. I really liked the people I talked to, and a few friends were going there. And as a senior you can take classes on a boat in the Bahamas for six months.

So I knew I would like going to St. George’s, but when I went to visit Mercersburg suddenly there was this other school at the top of the list. It was a new school. It wasn’t where are all the Saudi kids were going. And I had family in Harrisburg. I had a feeling that I’d be able to fit in there.

It seemed a lot more casual—more down to earth. They didn’t have the coats and ties and chapel services. Classes were in session when I visited, and I could see myself there, walking from class to class or going to the cafeteria. It felt like a place where I’d have room to grow without people looking down my back and correcting me instead of guiding me.

What were you most afraid of?
I was worried about making friends. I had my friends from Saudi, but I didn’t want to hang with them all the time. We were going in as sophomores, because Saudi elementary schools go to 9th grade, so groups had already been established and we were the new kids.

I thought it would be really hard academically, which was scary and exciting at the same time. And I knew I’d be doing a lot of extracurriculars. I’ve always packed my schedule full.

What were you most looking forward to?
One of my really good friends since fifth grade was going there, though we decided separately. So it was interesting to see how we’d bring our lifestyle to Mercersburg; how we would change and how Mercersburg would change.

I still haven’t figured out how I’ve changed. I feel different but I can’t analyze it. One thing is I definitely feel more mature and confident in my choices and abilities. I feel pretty independent. In the past, I think, I did a lot of things for my parents and teachers, but at Mercersburg I was working for me. Particularly in junior and senior year, I was restless and always looking for more.

I was looking for those changes. I wanted to grow up. I was tired of being a little kid. I felt older inside than I really was. I lived such a sheltered life here in Saudi. We’re in a big compound. You see everything from a TV or a car window, like the whole world is a zoo. I wanted to participate in life more.

I was just excited to go on to this next leg of my life.

What has been the biggest surprise?
I was surprised how good a fit Mercersburg was for me. And I was surprised at how nice a lot of the kids were. At a lot of prep schools you find a lot of high-class kids who won’t even talk to you. It was “we’re all here to learn.” I made friends with older and younger kids right away.

It’s a really good institution, but it’s not well known. It’s not in New England, which is where you find a lot of preppy prep schools. We’re in a good location to draw from the north and south, the east and the Midwest. People here are more down to earth.

What kinds of opportunities has Mercersburg let you explore?
I’ve always done theater but stopped in seventh or eighth grade because at home, it’s not cool to do. But then one of my buddies at Mercersburg asked me if I wanted to audition for a one act. We both auditioned for Hamlet–I got Hamlet and he had a bunch of other roles—that started a theater relationship. We were the director’s worst nightmare because we’d keep changing things around the night before opening. He was usually the instigator. He’d say something that was totally not in the script and you had to just go with it.

But I did it to him, too. One time we were supposed to have a fight with light sabers at the end of Hamlet. And the prop guy didn’t give me my light saber so I pulled out this dinky dagger that was part of my costume.

What's the biggest challenge you've had at Mercersburg?
Quitting the football team to do theater. After I did a one act in junior year and a second short thing in the spring, I wanted to do more so I quit football. I was afraid of the theater kids at first—I didn’t know whether would they accept me—but they turned out to be really sweet people. And I was afraid I’d be looked down on for quitting football. Some of my friends were mad at me, but they weren’t down on me. It was one of those times in your life where you reach a fork in the road and you have to make a decision about what you’re going to do. It kind of changed who I was at Mercersburg. A lot of kids did the winter one-acts, but I was making a different kind of commitment. Especially because I made a lot of my friends on the football team. I joined a few weeks after I got there, so they were my first and closest friends.

LISTS
Activities:

• Stony Batter
• President of Irving
• French club
• Grilling society
• Football
• Ski Team
• JV Baseball
  

What were the last five songs to play on your mp3 player?
"Pride and Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughn
"Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
"Beautiful Things" by DJ Tiesto
"Romeo" by Sublime
"Me and Julio" by Simon and Garfunkel

Favorite books you've read at Mercersburg?
Dr. Faustus
Life of Pi
Huckleberry Finn
The Nick Adams Stories
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

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