Aylah Cioffi, a senior and varsity hockey player, came to Kent as a repeat freshman. Living here for the whole 4 years, Kent helped her learn a lot. “I learn something new every day in all aspects of life, both socially and academically,” Aylah stated.

As a senior, Aylah used three words to describe her Kent life. Firstly, spontaneous: “You need to take chances in high school. Try things you never tried before.” Secondly, confidence: “you have to believe in yourself; it is a big part of how you can find yourself here.” Lastly, adversity: “You will definitely face a lot of challenges at Kent, and it’s important to work to overcome them.”

A special thing that Aylah loves about Kent is the diversity, since she enjoys getting to know people from different cultures. “What people can bring to the school really interests me.” In addition, she shared that “I like to be involved in all areas in Kent, with athletes, musicians, or actors.” Her favorite academic thing about Kent is her relationships with teachers. “You really bond with them outside the classroom, and they care about each individual one of their students. I never had the experience of being able to my teachers on a personal level before I came to Kent.” Asked for the the most challenging obstacle she faced at Kent, Aylah cited time management, and finding a balance between social life, academics, and athletics. 

When Aylah was named senior prefect school, her feeling was “pure joy. I realized how many people saw me as a leader, and the vote told me the community would believe me in this way.” She recognizes the importance of serving as a leader as a member of the SC: “Everyone looks up to us, especially new freshmen coming in. So it is really important for us to be good role models here.”

Talking about Aylah’s personal goal, she said it was to build a community. Due to COVID, it has been really hard to come together as one. But because the situation is improving right now, “we should come together with athletic events and any activities that bring the community – teachers, students, faculty – closer again, which is also one of our senior council’s initiatives.” Moreover, Aylah mentioned that she would like to focus on wellness and mental health as well. She suggested to students who are anxious or stressed that they “take one step at a time and live in the moment here. Don’t worry too much about the future. Focusing on what is in front of you and you can thrive at Kent.”