Ashleigh Y. ’25 will graduate in June as a Class of 2025 acorn, meaning she will have attended Oakcrest for a full seven years. Throughout these years, Ashleigh says she has experienced lots of growth. 

“I’ve seen my class grow, and have people join our class,” Ashleigh said. “I’ve grown too, along with the people. I love the people here. They are different from all the people I’ve met anywhere else. They are so much more authentic.” 

From her very first shadow visit, Ashleigh noticed something different about Oakcrest. While she notes there were no boys to disrupt the classroom, she was captivated by the teachers she met and the classes she observed. “Now I just love Oakcrest because of the people. The teachers have great relationships with their students.”

One of her favorite classes throughout the years has been Latin with Ms. Paula Rondon-Burgos. This year, Ashleigh is taking her third Latin class with Ms. Rondon. She says she was intrigued by Latin since her early Oakcrest days, taking her first class in sixth grade because she “wanted to try something new.” 

“All the teachers are great and I love how the language works,” she said. “I love learning about languages and how they work.” 

While she isn’t sure if Latin itself is something she’d like to pursue in college, Ashleigh is hoping to apply her love of language to computer coding, which she says has some surprising similarities. 

In the spring of 2024, Ashleigh received a Special Book Award for her stellar performance on the National Latin Exam. The award is presented to students who earn their fourth gold medal on different exams. When she was in seventh grade, Ashleigh received a perfect score on the National Latin Exam, and has continued to succeed. 

“A lot of the exam is taking what you learn and applying it to things that you might not know,” she said, adding that she relied on her multiple choice test taking strategies and a few “lucky guesses” as well. 

The book award was presented to Ashleigh at the 2023 Awards Day Ceremony. 

Throughout her years at Oakcrest, Ashleigh has also been a member of the Science Olympiad team, of which she is now a captain, has served on the crew for the theatre productions, as well as serving on the Literary Magazine team, the Rock Climbing team, and participating in the honor societies. She admits, however, that she wishes she could be involved in more. 

Outside of her classes and school activities, Ashleigh has taught herself several computer languages and how to code, alongside enjoying creative writing and reading. “There are so many first chapters of books that I have never finished,” she said, adding that she intends to, someday!

When she thinks about what it means to be an Oakie, Ashleigh says, “It means to be a part of a wonderful community of teachers and students, and to love learning and have fun.” 

“Beyond Oakcrest,” Ashleigh explains, “I hope to keep my faith which has been strengthened throughout my time here and I hope to continue to have relationships with my mentors and find new mentors, and keep in touch with everyone in my class and come back and visit.”