Louisa Varo is a graduate of Stewart School. She is now a senior at Columbus North High school.

Louisa attended ABC Stewart from 1992-2002. She first attended the Two’s More or Less and then proceeded to go to ABC preschool and kindergarten, and later attended the elementary division.

There are a few things that stood out to her about her preschool years with Mr. Powell. She remembers that when she was in ABC with Mr. Powell, he bought toothbrushes for all of the children and carved their names in them so they would brush their teeth every day after lunch. She also remembers Miss Pat bringing in different animals that she had rescued, and teaching her students about them.

Louisa’s favorite subjects were History and English, mainly because she enjoyed books, and to this day she is still interested in History. She found Math quite challenging, but she continues trying to better herself at it.

Some of her best memories about ABC Stewart School were Weeples day when they sold so many magazines that they got to ride to lunch in a limousine. Also, one winter it snowed so much that the school went out and made a snow creature (like a dragon). Capture the Flag every Friday was so much fun for her as well. It was what she looked forward to all week.

One of the teachers that Louisa remembers well was Miss Pat. She had her as an Art teacher, as well as a Two’s teacher. She also remembers Mrs. Lynn, the teacher’s assistant when she was in first grade.

Louisa participated in Math bowl, Brownies, and cheerleading. She remembers the tie-dye T-shirts for Math Bowl and always having Pop-Tarts for breakfast.

When she left Stewart and went on to junior high and high school she played tennis and was a peer leader, where she helped incoming seventh graders acclimate in middle school.

The homework at Stewart helped Louisa to manage her time. She claims that she received a lot of homework in high school. In later schooling Louisa says that attending Stewart helped her by giving her a good foundation because the math she learned at Stewart gave her a head start in middle school.

Some of the special trips she remembers taking at Stewart are Chicago, paging and Bradford Woods. She was in the first class to go to Chicago when they could not go to D.C. due to 9/11.

She recalls paging because she enjoyed going to the deli and getting lollipops. It took them the whole ride home to eat them.

Some of her accomplishments include awards in tennis in her later school years. She is the news section editor for the Triangle, the newspaper at Columbus North High school.

Louisa has travelled to Australia and England. She loved Australia! “Everything about it is wonderful, the people are amazing, and I just feel at home there,” Louisa says. She traveled around the coast for a month without her parents. “It was an amazing experience; the country is so diverse yet accepting at the same time.”

Louisa has participated in a few service projects. Her favorite was the Dance marathon, a 24 hour lock-in to raise money for Turning Point, a domestic violence shelter.

 When asked how she felt about leaving Stewart, Louisa says that she was very scared. It was a big stretch for her to go from a small private school to a public school. It helped that her friends Ava, Grace, Dustin, and Dan were going with her though. Once the first few weeks had passed she fit into the public school and realized she had nothing to worry about.

Louisa recalls that she was extremely nervous to be giving her graduation speech. She was also upset because she had spent so long at Stewart and knew the teachers very well. Her friends helped her though. They talked while they were waiting to give their speeches, so her nerves were calmed. Not only that, but they were all focused on the limo waiting for them afterward.

Louisa has not yet decided on what college she will be attending, but it will be a large four year university. She is planning to double major in International Business and Marketing. She loves traveling and is interested in business.

She claims that her greatest accomplishment has been that she has continued to challenge herself and has been on the honor roll many times.

Her advice for Stewart students today is: “Although it is a big step to leave Stewart, it is one you must take to realize who you are. Even though it doesn’t seem like it, those people who you are friends with in first and second grade will be with you throughout your school years. They will always be there for you.”