Noelle Lipschutz, who will attend UCLA in the fall, recently wrote about how Bainbridge Youth Services impacted her life in the student newspaper, Spartan Standard. We, at Bainbridge Youth Services, wanted to share excerpts of her article and hear more from her about her high school milestones.

Fondest Memories: As a graduating senior at Bainbridge High School, I have been extremely fortunate to be a part of many clubs and extracurricular activities. Looking back at my years here, I have cherished the moments being a part of the Alliance for Youth Teen Council, which is run by Bainbridge Youth Services.

The Teen Council has been a great way for me to be involved in our high school and community. I am part of a group of high school students that discuss our school environment, our culture and work on creative ways to make this a school where every student feels they are connected.

The group’s goal is to strengthen our community through peer education and connection and have students feel less stressed and more excited about the school day. Last year, we created the Gratitude Wall, which was posted in the 200 Building, and I was in charge of “Brain Breaks,” fun activities for BHS students to participate in. One day, we had beach balls all around campus for students to play with and even had a miniature pony come to school.

Designing Your Life: Being a part of BYS has opened many doors for me and gave me the tools to live a more joyful life. By regularly being in the BYS office, I learned about their summer internship program. These internships can help students experience their career interests which may further enhance their potential career pathways as they find what sparks their interest.

Being involved with BYS also has had a big impact on me and has given me a better understanding of how BYS advocates HOPE to help support the emotional and social well-being of all students.

I found hope during a Design My Life course that Bainbridge Youth Services offers. The summer workshop opened my eyes to many futures and gave me the skills I needed to pursue them. Even though the course taught me life skills for the future, I implemented these skills immediately. I became more hopeful in the present, not just for the future.

It also taught me how to use my own skills and the help of peers to overcome problems. Before taking the class, I underestimated the power and importance of these life skills. I genuinely feel that I have evolved as a student, daughter and friend from the classes.

After each session, I would go home and talk with my dad about what I learned and how amazing it is to reflect on the mindset for “design thinking.” I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to grow as a person.

(Bainbridge Youth Services is offering another series of Design Your Life workshops July 16, 23 and 30 for high school students. The workshops are free, but you must register with BYS and commit to attend all three sessions, which will be from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Bainbridge Island Aquatic Center Conference Room. Certificate of completion is given for attending all three classes. Pizza will be served! To sign up, go to the BYS website (youth programs) here: www.askbys.org. The course helps youth create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling. It’s based on the popular class at Stanford University that teaches a framework for building a life you can thrive in while also teaching design thinking — a dynamic, creative and collaborative approach to problem solving. It’s based on the premise that the same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.)

Finding Community: I’m also lucky to live in such a supportive community and go to a school with so many resources to help you succeed. Whenever I felt anxious, I knew I could always go to BYS and talk to a counselor. My advice to fellow students would be to take advantage of all the great resources around you.

I joined the BYS Teen Alliance not really knowing what it was, but in turn, I found my community at school. I have had the opportunity to make lifelong friends who are now in college and create strong bonds with adults.

As a community, we can promote hope by encouraging and supporting everyone’s different definition or value of hope. We have the opportunity to lift others up.

Noelle Lipschutz is a newly graduated senior at Bainbridge High School.