In high school, while many people identify as part of a particular group—athletes, artists, performers, academics or otherwise— junior Ruby Aldrich falls into all of these categories. She contributes to school culture daily with her involvement in numerous activities.
Aldrich’s accomplishments include serving as vice president of National Art Honors Society (NAHS), co-president of International Club, and historian for Band Council. Beyond these, she is a member of Recycling Club, National Honor Society, and a cast member of Revere Players. Aldrich also runs track and the basketball teams at the middle and high school levels pay her to work at games.
While many students prioritize involvement in one or two extracurriculars, Aldrich prioritizes immersing herself in a broad variety of activities. Aldrich explained that she is used to being occupied.
“[The busiest time of year] is kind of all the time, because in the fall I have the fall play, and I have [marching] band going on, and then during the winter, I work for all the basketball teams. For middle school, I run clock for all their games, and then I do book for all the high school teams. So that takes up all my days, Monday through Saturday. And then during the spring, I’m doing the musical, and I’m also doing track,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich balances clubs on top of her more involved extracurriculars. Bob Pierson, the adviser for NAHS and an AP Art teacher, explained the rigor involved in being a part of NAHS.
“NAHS is a national organization. . . instead of just being a bequeathed honor, it’s become more of a service organization, and we get asked to do a lot of art-related volunteer work. They have to get twenty hours of service per year; ten a semester, roughly,” Pierson said.
Pierson, who has had Aldrich in class for three years, reflected on how she stands out as a student.
“She goes above and beyond what I ask for in class, and that’s been since I had her as a freshman. She is meticulous, [she] asks to do more within class. . . She’s willing to rework and take something further if I ask her to, and she also asks for help when she knows she feels she needs it. So that’s a good attribute, which, I would say, characterizes most of my AP students,” Pierson said.
Sarah Zustin, the adviser for Art Club and an art teacher, emphasized the importance of knowing how to accept feedback.
“A good art student is someone who is open minded and willing to try and step out of the box. . . when you see someone take constructive criticism and put it in a positive manner, that just shows maturity,” Zustin said.
Aldrich enjoys seeing herself improve in her projects, hoping to submit two pieces to the Scholastic Art Awards this year. She also plans to run for co-president of Art Club her senior year. Zustin elaborated on what she values in student leadership.
“I look for students. . . who show up, so they commit to stuff. I [want to] know that they can handle responsibility. With the co-presidents, they pick the projects that they want to do in Art Club,” Zustin said.
On top of her involvement in art organizations, Aldrich also broadens her horizons academically. Jason Milczewski, the adviser for International Club, explained the qualities he looks for in student leadership.
“Reliability. . . we need to have students who can come to meetings, check emails, things like that. I also think we need students in leadership who are compassionate. . . who usually give off that sort of warm feel. I think that’s an understated thing,” Milczewski said.
Milczewski explained Ruby’s capabilities as a leader.
“Ruby became a leader because she was always willing to do presentations in the past, always willing to share her culture with us. . . it’s one of the few chances students get to have any type of international experience [in school]. I think we get in our comfort zone as Americans so it’s important for students to experience other cultures,” Milczewski said.
Aldrich’s leadership in clubs requires her to take on a more active role in different organizations. With a group as volunteer-based as NAHS, she has to stay on top of managing responsibilities of other members, Pierson explained.
“[Leadership] has to be at every meeting. . . [they] announce the service opportunities, when dues are to be turned in, attendance. . . you’re looking for someone who can hold their own. . . and take control,” Pierson said.
International Club also comes with its own set of leadership requirements to operate successfully. Milczewski elaborated on what a typical meeting entails.
“[As co-presidents], they’re all in charge of running the meetings. They’re all in charge of getting the speakers. They’re all in charge of coordinating snacks. . . and advertising. . . and being creative when it comes to, like, something we could do school wide. A lot of their work, though, is recruiting presenters, making them feel comfortable, and getting students interested in coming,” Milczewski said.
Aldrich explained that positions in different clubs lend themselves to one another. This year, her peers elected her to the Band Council as historian, meaning she runs social media accounts for the organization and is in charge of coordinating promotional materials.
“Being the band historian helps me. . . with communicating with other people [in other groups]. I like that the leadership factor transfers from club to club,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich’s involvement in band is her most long-standing engagement, having joined the organization in fifth grade. Though she now plays sousaphone for marching band and tuba and bass clarinet for concert band, she has tried out different instruments.
“I’ve always played an instrument. . . I started out on violin when I was around six or seven, and I played that for about ten years. [In fifth grade band], I started on clarinet. . . and I really liked seeing the high schoolers,” Aldrich said.
Despite her existing relationship with the performing arts, Aldrich’s participation in Revere Players came about more spontaneously.
“What really drew me to Players is that. . . I remember seeing the musicals my freshman year [and thinking] it looks like they’re having so much fun doing it. And honestly, I have really severe [fear of missing out]. . . and I ended up loving it [after trying out]. It was so much fun. And I’m disappointed I didn’t do it my freshman year,” Aldrich said. Most recently, she played the pirate Anne Bonny in the production of Treasure Island in November.
Outside of school and extracurriculars, Aldrich works at Sal’s Gelato on the weekends. She explains that to stay on top of all her activities, she prioritizes getting as much homework done during the day as possible.
“If I do have a test or something I need to study for, I just do that at night, when everything’s finally done,” Aldrich said.
In spite of the late nights, Aldrich is committed to having the most involved high school experience possible. She explains the benefit of being involved in school culture.
“You don’t know who you’re going to meet, and like the opportunities it can make. . . when it comes to doing your college apps. . . it just helps, knowing a lot of people down the road. Yeah, and it’s fun,” Aldrich said.
Zustin, who saw great growth in Art Club membership over the past two years, explained the significance of student engagement in larger organizations within the school.
“It brings people from different groups together. The first year I did [Art Club] it was a lot of students in art [classes], which is great, but we started to get a lot of kids in different sports and activities, so I think it just really crosses the bridge of stereotypical groups,” Zustin said.
Going into next semester, Aldrich will be busy with track, the musical, end-of-year preparations for band, her job, and staying on top of her leadership within school. With her responsibility, commitment to her passions, and drive to be an active member of the school community, she is set up to have an eventful and successful senior year.
