For most high school students, simultaneously taking intensive honors classes, participating in extracurricular activities, joining clubs, and maintaining a social life can be strenuous. Still, Sixth Former Ryan Shams has managed this balance for the past three years.
“I would say it comes down to dedicating time to each thing. I like to plan out my schoolwork, extracurriculars, and events I go to. On the weekdays, I mainly focus on schoolwork, then any extra time I have is dedicated to extracurriculars,” Shams said. “My weekends are kind of a mix of social life and work. Typically, I enjoy attending school events like the football games and then hanging out with friends.”
To Shams, extra-curricular activities are vital. His favorite activity is Model UN, an activity in which students portray the United Nations’ attempt to form legislation and debate over issues of conflict.
“It used to be very overwhelming, like how many different options for clubs and activities [were offered], I was kind of like overthinking, and I was stressing about it too much, but then over time, I eventually found my interests and stuff, and I stopped stressing and overthinking it.”
Ryan Shams ’26
“I’ve been doing it for all four years. Starting off, I just tried it out and went to one internal conference, and now I have more of a leadership role there,” Shams said. “Going to conferences has been a great experience for public speaking and working with others, and I would say it’s just been a lot of fun.”
One reason Shams enjoys Model UN so much is because of the fond memories he has gained from attending external conferences.
“I really like the ILMUNC Model-UN Conference [hosted at the University of Pennsylvania]. I have been going for the past three years, and a lot of my friends were there [with me]. It was a really fun conference,” Shams said. “In terms of social setting, it was also pretty fun with the delegate festival and other events inside. I also enjoyed walking around the city and exploring new places.”
The research club is another vital club to Shams.
“I would say the Research Club is also a crucial part of my high school life. I started that club last year, and it’s been great. I enjoy working with others to do different kinds of research. We already have a couple of papers published on sports injuries, aching injuries, and water quality.”
However, while it may seem straightforward, Shams didn’t always know what he wanted to do.
“It used to be very overwhelming, like how many different options for clubs and activities [were offered],” Shams said. “I was kind of like overthinking, and I was stressing about it too much, but then over time, I eventually found my interests and stuff, and I stopped stressing and overthinking it.”
While Shams may make it seem easy to handle so much work at once, having a stable support network was helpful.
“I would say the college counseling team has been a major support network I can rely on. I also have to give credit to my advisor, Mr. Stuart Alden, and teachers from the past few years as well,” Shams said.
Shams is not just proud of his growth in academics, but also of his school spirit.
“It was only possible by going out of my comfort zone,” Shams said. “Having school spirit and attending school events is really important for building community.”
While Shams can be seen as an academically focused student, he emphasizes that going to school events is equally important.
“When you are supporting your school and building the community, it helps you develop on a personal level and develop new connections you wouldn’t have developed otherwise,” Shams said. “It can be any school events like pep rallies, sports games, and school dances. These events help with making new friendships, and it goes back to the idea of getting out of your comfort zone.”
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