By Chris Moffitt

So you think TPA is hard? Imagine transferring here in the middle of high school! It’s hard to imagine how one would readjust when confronted with a new school, new teaching philosophy, new friends, and in the case of Blaise Stevens, even a new state! Blaise gives us a look into the perspective of such a student brand new to the TPA environment and jumping right into it.

Blaise is a Junior who transferred to TPA from her old school in Oregon! People decide to come to TPA for all types of reasons. For Blaise, “I came to TPA because it is one of the best ranked schools scholastically in all of Arizona and all my family (the Brittains) happened to go there!  TPA is also very well known for its science and English programs, in which my old school lacked.”

Some new students have quite a bit of trouble getting used to the heavy workload demanded at Tempe Prep, but luckily for Blaise, “I went to Jesuit High School, a private college prep in Oregon, and the transfer between schools was very easy because both schools have very challenging academic programs.” She still feels, however, that “the work load is way harder [at Tempe Prep]. I thought because there aren’t that many periods for classes that they would be easier, but boy did I think wrong!”

In adapting to the new school environment, Blaise describes the main difference being that Tempe Prep is such a small school. “TPA is way different then my old school because my old school had 1,200 kids!” she says. “TPA in that sense doesn’t have cliques and gives more sense of a community.” Other than that, she says, “The biggest shock was definitely the heat… but that’s probably just because I am an Oregonian.”

Overall, Blaise has fortunately had quite an easy transition between her two schools. When asked if she had any trouble with readjusting, she enthusiastically responded, “I haven’t had any trouble at all. Everyone has been so welcoming and I am so blessed to have made such amazing friends in such a short time!”