Student Highlight: Q&A with Dana Salmon

Dana Salmon is a North Hills Christian School senior this year.  In addition to being thick into AP classes and extra-curriculars, she manages to maintain a supportive group of friends and work a job at Sweet Frog, a local yogurt bar.  She has been chosen for participation in many school opportunities, and is an obvious candidate for scholarships as she heads towards college.  What is high school like for a student like Dana, and why has she chosen to live out this stage of life at NHCS?  Our newsletter staff decided to sit down and find out.

Q: How long have you been at North Hills?

Almost seven years - since sixth grade, which was 2006.

Q: What brought you to the school?

I was entering middle school, and looking at schools in my district...none of them had a comfortable feel.  North Hills was more welcoming.  I was originally supposed to be here just for middle school.

Q: Why did you decide to stay?

My mom definitely wanted me to go to public school, but I liked the environment, academic options, and spiritual nurturing at North Hills. I thought that overall, it was a better choice.

Q: What are your plans after high school?

Definitely going to college - probably UNC Chapel Hill or UNCG - and I plan on studying speech pathology, also known as speech therapy.

Q: What is the biggest impact you feel North Hills has made on your life?

I would have to say spiritually. It's not just a Bible school with some academics thrown in; it's a better academic school than others. And the spiritual is even more important than the academic, because it's eternal. My teachers have had a huge impact on me because they want me to know God more. The most important thing in life comes down to whether you know the Lord.

Q: So, from your perspective, how are the academics at North Hills?

Just from conversation with my friends outside of NHCS, I know that my coursework is more rigorous than that of people in other schools.  I do feel like I'm being stretched.  Some of my friends from NHCS who have gone to college seem like they were better prepared than graduates from other schools - not just where academics are concerned, but in adapting to the college environment.

Q: One thing that sets North Hills apart is the Summit course.  Can you talk about that some?

Summit is our Bible course, and what it does is look at different worldviews through a Christian worldview.  That may sound like a bunch of malarkey [laughs], but through NHCS I have had the opportunity to take a psychology course at Catawba, and I can definitely see in the subtleties that it's trying to feed us this postmodern worldview.  I wouldn't notice if I hadn't had Summit.  Some of my friends who haven't had Summit are buying into these lies that the secular world tries to press on us.

Q: What kinds of opportunities have you had at North Hills that you feel you might not have had elsewhere?

Well...we do have a state of the art technological program. Everyone in the high school gets a touch-screen tablet PC. They're not only very useful as a laptop to do research, but also as a notebook to write down mathematic formulas. We all agree that it's great to have technology in the classroom.  I've been able to take guitar lessons since 7th grade through the Psalmist Workshop.  I stopped taking lessons in 10th grade, but the teacher, David Edwards, started a praise band, which I joined.  I started with acoustic guitar, and now I play bass.  Last year, I was nominated to attend Tarheel Girls' State, which is a program by the American Legion Auxiliary.  It's basically a week-long mock government program.  I'm also in our school's Missions Club, which is led by one of my teachers, who majored in International Missions at Moody Bible Institute.  Our focus is ministering to missionaries; we send them cards, pray for them, and occasionally bring them in to speak to us.  We're actually going on our own missions trip to Mexico at the end of the year.  Last year, NHCS offered students a chance to take an overseas trip to Europe.  Nine students went, along with our art teacher and some parent chaperones.  We all hopped on a plane and flew into Paris, and spent the next few days trekking around France and Italy.  We got to see how their faith affects their lives over there; Christianity is very different in Italy than it is here!  I'm also in Junior Civitan through North Hills, which is an international community service organization.  The biggest thing we did last year was help out with the Special Olympics.  It was good to see students encouraged to serve outside their comfort zones.

Q: What about your peers at North Hills?  What has their influence meant to you?

Most of my peers and I are all on the same page. We're all in senior year and we all like it here. All our teachers are kind and care about us, and there is genuine friendship; there are some days I just say, "I can't wait to get to school and see my friends." ...Not to say that we don't have friends outside of school.  We're not hermits!  We all have a bunch of friends outside of NHCS.  Lots of us like to get together and go to the Salisbury High football games - stuff like that.

Q: Is there anything you'd like to say about North Hills as you prepare to graduate?

I've heard a lot of adults say, "I'd love my kids to go to North Hills, but we can't afford it."  It probably will be a sacrifice for you and your family, but in the end, it will be worth it. Students come out of here spiritually ahead of their peers and better prepared to enter to college environment. My mom is a single mom, and God has provided for us. I see a lot of families that, based on what they do and the money they make, shouldn't be able to pay for NHCS - but God has provided for them. If my teacher doesn't know me or care about me, I won't want to learn. My teachers aren't just there to make their paycheck; they love what they do, and they love us. There's nowhere else in this area where your students will be as encouraged to grow as we are here. Prayer is a powerful thing, and you won't get that anywhere else. In the end, I promise the sacrifice is worth it.