While the school year may seem far away, now is a great time for
new Tigers to learn a little bit more about what Ridley is like. There is no better way to learn than from a fellow student. Meet Jared Sloan ’19: one of 13 Student Prefects for the 2018-2019 year. As a Prefect, Jared will help support, empower and lead the student body.

Jared began his Ridley journey in 2013 as a Grade 7 student and has since excelled in his academics, athletics and co-curricular experiences. Read more about Jared’s Ridley story and find out what he’s looking forward to most come September.

Why did you choose Ridley?
Truthfully, it wasn’t really my choice, so I guess you should ask my parents that question. I think they’d say it was because Ridley offered so much more than any other school in the region and would hopefully provide better preparation for university. Looking back, I have to admit they made a smart decision.

Did you feel prepared coming to Ridley?
I don’t think I ever felt overwhelmed, but as with any new school, there were definitely some changes I had to get used to. Luckily, there were also lots of people who helped ease the transition. I remember one teacher telling me on the first day of school that if I ever needed help, I could come talk to him. Gestures like that went a long way in relieving any anxiety I may have initially had.

Who is your favourite faculty member and why?
I guess that depends on the criteria. Favourite teacher to learn from? Mr. Ronald. I honestly think you’d be hard-pressed to find a human being more passionate about their job than him. Favourite teacher to be around? Dr. Foster. Her unfailing positivity and humour always made French class an experience to look forward to. Biggest contributor to my enjoyment of Ridley life? Mr. Doyle, who has been everything I could want in a math teacher, Head of House and golf coach. But he still owes me two River Lions tickets.

What has been your greatest challenge thus far at Ridley?
The most intimidating thing I’ve done would probably be participating in the Valentine’s Day Debate as a Grade 9. I always thought that this event – which takes place in front of the entire school – was reserved for Ridley’s most experienced debaters, and I had no idea I would be asked to compete in it in my first year of high school. I was reluctant to say yes, and nervous once I did, but I think I prepared well and put on a decent performance. And you know what? It’s kind of fun to debate in front of 400 fans instead of just 4 judges, like we do at most tournaments.

What has been your greatest accomplishment thus far at Ridley?
Being voted the Grade 8 Valedictorian by my peers was pretty meaningful to me. I’m not the most naturally social person, so I can’t say I was friends with everyone in the grade, but it was nice to know that my peers thought highly enough of me to let me speak on their behalf at graduation. (Either that or the vote got split a bunch of different ways…I’m sticking with the first explanation!) All kidding aside, to go from new student to valedictorian in two years was something I couldn’t have imagined, so that one’s still special to me.

What has been your favorite Ridley experience?
I’ll give you my favourite Ridley story. It’s from the Grade 8 trip to Ottawa and Montreal in 2015, which took place while the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens were playing each other in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. How perfect was that? Ottawa should never have actually made the playoffs, but they snuck in thanks to a miraculous late-season run by their goaltender, Andrew Hammond, who was affectionately nicknamed the Hamburglar. Anyway, we’re in Ottawa, it’s lunchtime, and I’m standing in line at a McDonald’s with Jordan, Tyler, and Bart. The woman behind us hears us talking about hockey and informs us that the Hamburglar is taking pictures with people a couple blocks away. Of course, we interpret this as “Andrew Hammond is taking pictures with people”, which should have struck us as odd given that he had a playoff game in Montreal a few hours later. But clearly we weren’t too bright back then, as we immediately rushed out of the restaurant to get to the photo op. We were just deciding what we were going to say to Andrew when we turned the corner and realized that the “Hamburglar” the woman had referred to was just a cardboard cut-out of the actual Hamburglar. We’d wasted our lunch break chasing a false lead! I understand it was our own fault, but still…why would that woman have thought we’d want a photo with a cardboard cartoon character? I think we need to track her down and ask her that.

What is your favourite part of Ridley life?
The busyness. With so much going on, there’s always something to look forward to. Your next game, your next club meeting, your next presentation…things that allow you to wake up in the morning with a sense of excitement and purpose. Can it become stressful at times? For sure. But I always say that if you were never stressed, it would probably be because you were never doing anything important, which would be a sad way to live your life.

What part of being a Prefect are you most excited for?
Working with my fellow Prefects. I might be biased, but I think that the Class of 2019 is a particularly strong one, and I’d like to think the Prefect team reflects that. I really believe there are some amazing leaders in this grade, which is one of the reasons I found this job so attractive. I’ve done lots of group work in the past, but never anything this extensive, and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish over the course of an entire school year.

How has Ridley prepared you for the future?
Time management is definitely one of the big things. I’ve talked to people from other schools who say they’re nervous about university because they went through high school without really doing any work – needless to say, you won’t have to worry about that at Ridley. I also think that Ridley does a good job of teaching responsibility. For example, if you miss class due to a sports commitment, your teachers will be happy to help you catch up, but you have to be proactive and arrange those meetings. In my opinion, Ridley gives you every opportunity to succeed if you show initiative.

What are your plans after graduation? 
In a perfect world, I’d do an undergraduate health sciences degree in the U.S. and then come back to Canada and study medicine. Both of my parents are in the healthcare field, and I definitely think that’s something I’d like to enter. But I have other interests, too. I’ve joked before that I’d like to combine the Ben Carson and Chris Christie career paths. Ben Carson went from doctor to politician, and Chris Christie went from politician to sports radio host – or at least he almost did. So, we’ll see. I won’t etch anything in stone yet.

What advice would you give prospective students about Ridley?
I feel like some of the other Prefects will say “take advantage of the opportunities” (which is perfectly valid advice), so I’ll go for something different. Just stay on top of things. I see people who constantly hand in work late – one assignment is overdue, so they push the next one back, and it quickly becomes a never-ending game of catch-up. As you would expect, that almost always leads to more stress and less success. And if you’re always behind, you’ll miss out on a lot of the great things that Ridley has to offer. So, please make the most of your Ridley experience and manage your workload effectively.