As students begin preparing for finals and the fall semester draws to a close, many trojans at Terra Linda High reflect on the months of vigorous curriculums, and enjoyable school events, reminiscing on the busy fall semester. Throughout this time, The Voice has been on the lookout for Trojans who excel academically, in addition to being involved on campus and in the community. We are excited to announce our first Trojan of the Semester ever, Ryder Wentzel!
A Senior here at TL, Ryder is very involved in the Terra Linda community. For starters, he is the co-President of Interact Club, a philanthropic team on campus that works to conduct, organize, implement, and execute community drives. This year, he has organized and hosted a blood drive, a food drive, and a book drive on campus. Outside of club time, he commits a lot of time reaching out to organizations, like Vitalant, Marin Food Bank, and Terra Linda Book Exchange, to partner with for club events and projects, and communicating and networking behind the scenes work. Besides that, in his free time he enjoys pursuing hobbies, like playing golf, which he has played for TL his past three years here, although he plans to switch it up this spring and try lacrosse. He further demonstrates his dedication to bettering not just the campus, but the larger community of TL, through working at Marin Country Clubs on weekends, and working weddings for a Rosewood Events LLC this Fall.
Moreover, he balances all his extracurricular activities with his five AP courses this year. Currently, he is enrolled in AP Environmental Science, AP Calculus AB, Economy, AP Spanish, and AP Literature, and will be taking AP Government in the spring. He comments that, “It’s a good amalgamation of classes, but it’s really fun. The teachers are great, and I’m learning a lot, so I’m really pleased with the selection I have.” He holds all A’s in these challenging courses, staying consistent and pouring in a considerable amount of hours to his work, both inside and outside of the classroom. He adds that once inside the classroom, he tries to stay disciplined, and focused, absorbing as much information as he can. This way, when it comes to outside studying, he knows what he’s doing, and he can put in the hours too, stating, “It’s a good balance between inside class focus and outside of class discipline and emphasis.”
Besides taking such challenging classes, and being extremely involved in the community around him, Ryder is also well loved by his teachers and peers alike. Sara Frack, the AP Environmental Science teacher, describes him as “hard-working,” and “curious.” Frack fondly remembers when Ryder and his group had a presentation about renewable energy sources, and he went above and beyond, giving very detailed and thorough information. Funnily enough, his act was so difficult to follow that nobody wanted to present after. She comments, “It was truly one of the best presentations I’ve seen by a student ever.” The two have also had many great conversations on environmental topics and economics, she says, “Because of the effort he puts into learning, he’s really well informed. This allows him to be a great conversationalist.” English teacher Karen Arcangelo adds that, “Ryder’s effort in his school work is fantastic. He never answers haphazardly, but rather puts thought into his work and demonstrates his desire to learn.” Economics teacher, Randall Baker, also notes that, “Ryder is a very thorough, calm, and collaborative student. He’s especially kind and cooperative with his classmates.” He also fondly details that, “Ryder likes what he likes. He almost always brings his half-eaten breakfast burrito to 3rd period Econ.”
Ryder is also well loved by his classmates, with Senior Kiara Chapman describing him as “diligent,” and “optimistic.” She adds that he is, “an easygoing, responsible, and respectful student in the classroom, who is also a generous and kind friend. I know Ryder is someone who I can have a fun small talk- conversation with.” She recalled a time they were working on a project together, when she became visibly overwhelmed and stressed out. Ryder told her calmly there was no reason to be stressed out and comforted her. She says that, “He knows how to read the room and be a team player.” Another Senior at TL, Olivia Brewster, concurs, commenting that, “Ryder is a focused student but always willing to help other people. I always see him giving 100% effort to all of his assignments and classes.” She observed that he has performed well and stayed motivated and focused throughout the course of his highschool career. She praises his thoughtfulness, kindness, and his ability to stay focused, noting that he “always makes an effort to understand situations completely.” Brewster has had math classes with Ryder all throughout high school, as well as physics sophomore year. She recollects that, “In all of these classes, he has been kind and helpful, making the relatively difficult/frustrating classes not nearly as hard.”
Upon graduating this summer, Ryder hopes to attend a four year university, preferably on the East Coast or Southern California. Currently, he is interested in international relations, stating that it is because “it balances technical work with policy, government economics with the cultural aspect of just learning about other cultures.”
The Voice wishes him the best of luck on his journey after graduation. Being a well rounded student and a great, active member in Terra Linda’s community, there is no doubt that Ryder Wentzel will go far and accomplish whatever he puts his mind to!
