Shaw believes relationships are key to the Worthington Christian experience.
In her past four years at Worthington Christian, senior Winnie Shaw has learned how important community is and, unfortunately, how easily that community can be taken away.
Shaw, who will enroll in the pre-nursing program in college, plays violin in the school’s orchestra and is on the Warriors tennis team. She said she loved the sense of community those activities gave her.
“Some of the best memories I’ve had at Worthington Christian were through those activities,” Shaw said. “I loved the sense of community we had in tennis. We started a little sister program within the tennis team, and it was a good opportunity to get to know people I wouldn’t get to know otherwise. From the beginning of the season, I loved hanging out, eating lunch, and having time to bond with my ‘little sister’ Brooke Winfree.”
Shaw said the absence of community made the Covid pandemic so difficult. The school was closed for weeks during her freshman year, and students attended classes virtually. Even though WC opened back up sooner than some of the area schools, being back in class felt different those first couple months of her sophomore year.
Losing that sense of community was difficult, according to Shaw.
“We had a lot of virtual classes, and when we came back, social distancing made all the classrooms a mess,” she said. “You could only have two people at a desk, and in study halls, everyone had to sit one seat apart.
“Worthington Christian is such a small school, and you rely on having your friends and that sense of community. Having that taken away from us was difficult. I don’t know how we did it, honestly.”
One of Shaw’s most challenging parts of virtual learning was being separated from her teachers. The senior enjoys the lively interaction between her teachers and students, especially in Dr. Joe Price’s Bible class during her junior year.
“The great thing about Dr. Price’s class is he doesn’t dumb things down for us,” Shaw said. “We would talk about hard things. We were a very challenging class, and we had a lot of questions. He never gave us an easy answer. He always said, ‘I want to know what you think.’”
Her critical thinking skills will be tested when Shaw heads to Xavier University this fall. By earning a degree in nursing, she will follow the steps of her father, Tim, and her mother, Abigail, who are both in the medical field. However, Shaw said neither parent pressured her career choice.
“Neither one of my parents said, ‘You have to go into the medical field,’” Shaw said. “They let me decide what I want to be. I love caring for people and helping them. Nursing will allow me to do that.
“One of the things Worthington Christian allowed me to do is build relationships. It helped develop the compassion that I have. I want to incorporate that into my life and my future.”