“Mom, I got in!” We all remember the feeling, the moment, and the euphoria that came with realizing we had been accepted into Maggie Walker. Many of us also probably remember the nerves, the excitement, and the stress that came with actually starting our freshman year at the governor’s school. When reflecting on the incoming classes from recent years, it is obvious that their first years at MLWGS have been far from average. Today however, it seems as though things are finally returning to normal. But what does this new normal look like? To answer that question, we had freshmen Arian “Ari” Johri, Sriram Panchagnula, and Deepanshi Kumar give their thoughts on their experience so far at Maggie Walker.

Responses have been edited for clarity and conciseness.

How has your life changed as a MLWGS student as opposed to before?

Ari: I feel very privileged to be able to go to MLWGS! I’ve met a lot of new people and had a lot of new experiences so far. I’ve also had to adjust to the new environment because everyone is so unique, but that’s going to make the school year really fun. I’m also learning to manage my time better with extracurriculars, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

Sriram: To be completely honest, not much. The main difference is that I’ve had to adapt to the increased workload and number of quizzes and tests. In middle school, the workload felt very minimal, leaving me free in the evenings, and something that I now know I took for granted. Now, it feels impossible to get a day without work. Overall, I think that my life changed for the better.

Deepanshi: Being at Maggie Walker has been a new experience, and a really fun time. I think it’s so nice to be able to find more people who I relate to and be a part of such an energetic student body.

What were your expectations for MLWGS? Were they met? What didn’t you expect?

Ari: Most of my expectations were about the workload, people, and the environment. At first, I was expecting a lot of work and projects because of what I’d heard from friends, but so far, it isn’t at all what I expected. I’m glad it’s been a smooth transition. The people at this school are all nice people, especially the upperclassmen, who give great advice and are really helpful. I went to Moody for middle school, and the environment there was very different from here.

Sriram: Most of my expectations for Maggie Walker have been met but some have not, and that’s a good thing. I expected Maggie Walker to be a school that dumps hours of homework on you. That became somewhat true as most classes give about 30 minutes of homework every day, which is very manageable. When I used to think of Maggie Walker students, I imagined that its students were ultimate perfectionists and did not really like to talk to people. Thankfully, that’s not the case. One thing I didn’t expect was the freedom and trust that the school has for the students, coming from a school like Moody.

Deepanshi: I honestly did expect it to be a change from middle school and it definitely met that expectation because there is just much more going on and a lot more independence, which makes it so fun!

What is your favorite part about Maggie Walker?

Ari: My favorite part of MLWGS so far has been interacting with my friends and teachers and making new friends as well. I thought that because of high school, my social life would probably go down a bit, but it’s been pretty good. I’ve already made a lot of new friends.

Sriram: So far, my favorite part of Maggie Walker has been the people. They have been very welcoming and understanding, something I can say is very assuring. They have also been very sociable and kind to me, and I hope that they see me the same way. The best part is the level of respect that everyone has for each other, as that makes school a lot better.

Deepanshi: So far, my favorite part of MLWGS has to be being part of a sports team because it’s really nice to get to know more people!

What is your least favorite part about Maggie Walker?

Ari: Although I don’t majorly dislike anything about MLWGS, if I had to choose, it would probably be the quizzes that I’ve taken, as they’ve all been much different and more difficult than anything I took in middle school.

Sriram: My least favorite part of Maggie Walker has to be the schedule. In Moody, we had blocks 1-4 on one day and blocks 5-8 on another, alternating each day. To me at least, this seems a lot more reasonable. The most annoying thing about it all is the fact that we have all eight classes on Fridays, and it just feels like too much work to take to school. I know that this isn’t something significant as it’s just me being picky.

How are you managing the workload?

Ari: Having an online planner has been extremely helpful, but also just not procrastinating.I haven’t had anything too bad, but it’s still early in the school year.

Sriram: I’m able to manage my workload efficiently because I am in the habit of doing all my homework the day I get it assigned, which permits me to have time to study when I need to. It’s also because I don’t like feeling lazy when doing my work, which makes it easy to finish all my work in time. Since school started a month ago for me, the workload is bound to increase, and the most I can do is just be ready for it.

Deepanshi: The workload is definitely more than I had before, but I have been able to manage it so far. The toughest part has just been keeping track of all the assignments, but it isn’t too bad yet.

What can MLWGS do to make things better?

Ari: If they could make the transportation a bit better, that would be nice, although I know that’s not completely in their hands.

Deepanshi: I think lunch is a great time for people to get some work done and maybe making it a little longer could help with that, especially if people want to work with study groups.

Why do you think you got into MLWGS?

Ari: I don’t think there’s one spe

cific reason that any of us got into MLWGS. I like to think it’s because of my socialness and critical thinking abilities, but it could be for a lot of other reasons as well.

Sriram: I can’t just say that I knew that Maggie Walker was my calling, and I knew that this would be like my second home, because I didn’t. It was more of a,“Huh, this sounds cool. Let me try it out,” situation. But I can tell you that I made the right choice by going here.

Deepanshi: Being at MLWGS, I can see that I got in because I enjoy learning and have passion for it. I am also hardworking and dedicated to what I do, like so many MLWGS students.

With every school year come adjustments the incoming class must make, and it seems the class of 2026 has risen to the occasion. It is safe to say that the existing MLWGS students love seeing fresh faces each fall who get to embark on their high school careers. For the overall community, it is also really important to learn from the new freshmen each year. We look forward to what the rest of the year has to hold and wish our freshmen the best of luck throughout their first year at Maggie Walker!