Together TEEN Tours Featuring Mahelet Serekeberhan and Sesina Hadish: Issue #111

Jan 23, 2025

Together Friends,

The Together Team is busy around here with a full docket of both online and in-person classes as we move into the new year. And it’s not too early to book us for summer and fall 2025. . . our calendar is open and ready! In the meantime, I am here to present this month’s Together Tour(s)!

Together Tours: Mahelet Serekeberhan + Sesina Hadish

In the late fall, I was fortunate enough to spend some time over at DC International School (DCI), a wonderful charter high school here in DC, and while I spent the majority of my time Together-ing with some willing freshmen, I was also fortunate to meet a few amazing seniors. Both Mahelet (Maha) and Sesina are busy with college applications, full course loads, fun extracurriculars, and involvement with friends and families. Being the teacher that I am, of course, I wanted to know how on earth they kept it Together in high school – and so here is what Maha and Sesina told me!

PS I’m also really struck how they each organize themselves differently – much as we do as adults! They both are doing a lot of prioritization for the short and long term.

Introducing our Together Teens: Maha (L) and Sesina (R)!

Why does Togetherness even matter for high school students?

Maha: Once I became involved in various leadership positions and extracurricular activities, I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t forgetting anything. It also feels like an accomplishment to check something off my list.

Sesina: I’ve always loved the idea of a To-Do List, especially because I watched movies like 16 Wishes and Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, where the main characters made one. I’ve always been organized, but I’ve also tried out different organization methods to help me get better at it.

How do you track all your To-Dos?

Sesina: If I use my sticky note wall for assignments due soon, I usually separate them in clusters by day. If I don’t use my sticky note wall, I use the calendar on Toddle (our school’s portal for assignments) that already has assignments deadlines on it.

Digitally, I use Google Calendars to organize some of my extracurricular responsibilities, as well as schoolwork. Most times, the assignments posted in class will sync up in my calendar. To stay organized, I have different calendars for different tasks and groups. For example, below I have calendars for Black Student Union, HOSA – Future Health Professionals, various classes, and Honor Societies.

I find this extremely effective because it is easily accessible, portable, and easy to create! I am also able to remind myself of tasks at home through my sticky note wall, and through my digital calendar.

Maha: Whenever I get a new assignment, I make sure to add it to my list in Reminders. If not, I go through each class of the day and recall any work that was assigned to me. Usually, my Notes and Reminders apps go hand in hand. I have my assignments listed on my notes app and my reminders app is for meetings or back-to-back due dates.

I also organize my work using separate folders to distinguish the tasks I am currently working on and the work I have already completed. Having an individual folder for each class rather than combining all of my work into one folder has been very effective. My completed work sits on the right side of my folder; I associate it with being “right.”

(Editor’s Note: Just like adult humans, these teens are figuring out what blend of digital and paper will work for them.”)

Maha and Sesina also shared what they do in those times when they just don’t feel like doing the work (which happens to all of us!):

  • Take time to decompress first. Both Maha and Sesina have fun hobbies like baking, nails, and other creative pursuits!
  • Put away all distractions like phones or pets
  • Work with a friend for accountability (on the day of our interview, Maha and Sesina were meeting up on a Saturday at Starbucks to do schoolwork)

Sesina and Maha, thanks for giving us a peek into your lives as Together Teenagers! Readers, any other Together Teen Tips out there to share with us?

Together Treasure Box

  • Do you have a favorite scanner? If you’re trying to be as paperless as possible, a scanner (or scanning app) is key. Even if you’re not entirely Team Digital, it’s good to have a plan for when important papers build up.
  • Did you come back from the holidays in a fog? Coming back from break can be rough! Do yourself a favor next time and set up a Vacation Return Memo, allowing for a smoother return to work—while keeping Sunday Scaries at bay!
  • Is your holiday décor still up? No judgement—putting things away feels so much more tedious than taking them out and decorating! But Togethering your break-down now can make next year’s set up so much easier.