This teen is getting the most out of high school
Centennial News is starting a new column this month called Coffee with Kathryn. We have three Kathryns on our newspaper team (Kathryn Rowe, Kathryn McGrath and Kathryn Stocks) and we’ll be taking turns chatting with people in the community.
By Kathy Rowe
I had coffee with Vishy Anandaraj last month. Vishy is a Grade 11 student at Mowat and up until a few months ago he was also the social media rep for CCRA. Our discussion ranged from school and sports to social media and politics.
Vishy said he is very excited right now about a new club called Mowat Mentors. “There are about 20 of us from Grade 9 to Grade 12 in the club,” he said. “We are planning presentations to give to the students at Joseph Howe Sr. Public School. The idea is to talk to the students in Grades 7 and 8 about what to expect when they get to Mowat. We want to tell them how they can get the most out of high school.”
He is looking forward to telling them about all the clubs that exist at Mowat. “There are so many clubs from debating to drama. They need to know that our athletics are super strong at Mowat and so is our theatre.”
When I asked him what high school has taught him about himself, Vishy said, “I have definitely learned that I have a big interest in the school community as well as the Centennial community. In addition to Mowat Mentors, I belong to the Model UN club (a debating club) and a new club called Mowat Care Bears. The Care Bears club members find ways to give back to the school community. For example, we have started handing out cards of appreciation to Mowat staff.”
This Grade 11 student has always been interested in sports. Right now Vishy plays volleyball for the Halton Hurricanes U-17. “We are one of the top-rated teams in the province. I also play for two Mowat volleyball teams – the boys team and the co-ed team,” he said.
The boys volleyball team won the city championship and advanced to OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations). At OFSAA they placed fifth out of 20 teams. “We went to St. Catharines for the OFSAA tournament, and it was the best experience I have had at high school so far.”
Like most teens, Vishy is on social media. “I have Snapchat and Instagram,” he said. “I’m one of the few students I know who is on X.”
I asked him if his peers are aware of what’s going on with Canadian/U.S. politics right now. “My parents talk about what’s going on, so I know a bit,” he said. “But I would say that my age group is really not that into politics.”
My final question to Vishy was: “If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would that person be?” He replied, “Actually, I would love to sit down with my volleyball trainer. He played high level volleyball at one time. He is not just a trainer, he is kind of a life coach. I’d sit down with him every day if I could.”