School culture provides a supportive, encouraging, positive, and challenging environment for both students and staff. Senior Nemo Zhang uses her experience in both BV and her previous school in New York to comment on the differing traditions.

“The school I attended was called J.H.S 074 Nathaniel Hawthorne,” Zhang said. “In the beginning, I barely had any friends but there were a lot more Asian kids who had similar backgrounds like mine.”

With most school practices being either singing or music-related, Zhang shares how BV traditions are related to her school in New York.

“[At my old school we did] yearly musicals, which is a tradition that brings us together — everyone is allowed to audition and everyone gets a part, no matter what,” she said. “It’s really enjoyable, and you make lots of friends.”

While there are similarities between the two high school cultures, the school-wide assemblies were a change.

“We had people with various talents perform at the assemblies, like bikers, singers and artists,” she said. “They would come in and teach us important things. [I didn’t like them] because it was really boring and super long.”

Another positive change is driving a vehicle to school in Kansas, which is very different from using New York public transportation.

“I took the bus and subway, but the buses were never on time, and I was always late for school,” Zhang said. “Also, it was very smelly.”

She said there are a few improvements she would make to her previous school.

“I like the BV tradition as it is — I would change the layout of the school [in New York] or have fewer students there because it was always super crowded going up and down the stairs every day,” she said. “[There are] 1,000 or something kids in [that] school. There are only three grades; it was crazy. New York is crazy.”

After her experience as both an Eagle and a Tiger, Zhang said the atmosphere can create a difference in the energy of a school.

“Community is really important for everybody to get along; I feel like having a school with an interesting culture is really fun,” Zhang said. “[Having] school spirit is really important because then everyone’s one giant family.”