Whether we like it or not, AHS is practically our second home, providing us with countless opportunities to succeed and grow as individuals while learning to communicate with all kinds of people in its diverse environment. With its top-notch education and plenty of friendly yet ambitious students, there are endless reasons to be thankful for this campus. So when I went around asking students why there were thankful for AHS, I was delighted to hear the variety of answers.

With around 12 sports teams at AHS, students have a wide selection to partake in. Not only that but with an astonishing nine academic teams and over 50 clubs, you’ve got plenty to fill your plate. This was the case for freshman Vicky Li who was “thankful for being on the AHS cross country team.”

Besides the extracurriculars, with nearly 3,500 students, you’re bound to meet plenty of people, some of whom you will make connections with for the rest of your life. Freshman Jarod Cardenas said he was “thankful for Merrick Hua, my best friend” whom he met at AHS.

And finally, the food at AHS. Including hamburgers, salads, sandwiches and more, AHS has all kinds of food you can buy. In the mornings for breakfast, you can choose between a variety of cereals, muffins, eggs and sausages, pancakes, and the list goes on. There’s even a snack bar at lunch where you can treat yourself to a little side dish of fruit, ice cream, cookies, or chips. On top of that, we have vending machines containing snacks displayed all over campus as well as vending machines for beverages. Sophomore Justin Sun said he was “definitely thankful for the food [at AHS].”

All of us come from different ethnic backgrounds and households, yet our one similarity is that we arrive at this campus five days a week with the same goal: to learn and interpret that learning once we are sent off into the “real world”. With AHS being within the top 2% of public high schools in the nation, and the endless extracurriculars, courses, and food, all of us are blessed and thankful to be apart of the Apache community.