By Carina Cole ‘22 News Reporter
Taking the stage to share his Mercersburg story, Jesse Zhang ‘20 discussed the ways in which his hobby of photography allowed him to connect with his peers and school community while giving him the confidence he needed to become more involved on campus. Zhang said, “While telling my story, it was scary to do so in front of such a large audience, especially because it is always difficult to reflect on one’s own life.” He was eager to see how the audience interpreted his talk, understood his story, and what message they took away from it.
Zhang said, “I tried to aim my story towards the whole audience, but especially ninth grade year.” He chose to focus his speech towards the lower classmen because he discovered his love for photography while taking pictures at a Mercersburg football game his junior year. From that point forward, he used photography as an outlet to better connect to his peers and invest his time in something he truly cares about. Zhang noted, “Everything will be okay, and as time progresses, I hope I inspired people to discover their place in the school.
Ava Hull ‘21 was impressed with Zhang’s Mercersburg talk and commented, “It’s always interesting to listen to how Mercersburg has affected members of the community individually.” She was not only interested in hearing the different hobbies of each student, but their beginnings as students at Mercersburg Academy. Sue Malone agreed and stated, “The new concept of Mercersburg story talks is important because you are able to see the person genuinely revealing a part of themselves to the community. I have been continuously impressed by the amount of courage and confidence these students have possessed on such an intimidating platform.”