The senior Kairos leaders discuss what it’s like to prepare for the biggest retreat at Seattle Prep while staying on top of other responsibilities. The K46 team had been preparing since the beginning of school; a 10 week and 30 hour process. Not only do the Seniors commit themselves to after school meetings, but they must also stay focused on their academics. The Seattle Prep Panther was lucky enough to talk with some of the senior leaders about their experience with balancing the responsibilities of Kairos and school.
The first few months of senior year are brutal. The stress over college applications, AP classes, and other activities is overwhelming and details can be hard to keep track of. From a Kairos leader’s perspective, their commitment to the retreat is piled on top of everything else and can sometimes make life more chaotic.
For many, the most stressful part of Kairos is getting everything done on time. Nathan Jensen ‘18 said, “Even though Kairos may seem like a few months away, it goes by extremely quickly. In this small amount of time you got to get the talks done, all the [merchandise] for your group, and also just get into the right mindset.”
On the other hand, senior leader Liam Walsh explained that Kairos is hard but not too stressful. He mentioned, “Wednesday [meetings] after school are manageable.   They’re like doing a fall sport, but my classes are always at the back of my mind.”
Another thing to keep in mind is how much sleep these seniors are getting. On average, a Seattle Prep student gets about 6-7 hours of sleep, but does the commitment to Kairos jeopardize a leader’s sleep patterns? Even though the pressure of writing a good talk while juggling other school work is hard, the leaders have claimed that their lack of sleep is not due to Kairos.

When asked about her sleeping habits, Elsa Fletcher ‘18 answered, “I am getting enough sleep. Without sleep I don’t do so well, so I go to bed at a reasonable time.” Ethan McReynolds ‘18 shared, “I am definitely not getting enough sleep at all. It’s not Kairos related though. It’s more of a result of college apps and class rigor…”
Similarly, fellow senior leader SJ Brackett agrees that her lack of sleep is because of other things. She said, “There have been a couple of nights where I don’t get enough sleep, but it is not because of Kairos. I am pretty serious about a full 8 hours [of sleep].”
In terms of managing their work load, the K46 leaders can agree that at times it can be tough. Jensen added, “To be completely honest, I’m not managing my time well at all. I’m saving everything for the last minute.”
McReynolds also mentioned, “Time management has been hard…college is the biggest thing that has consumed my time and made this year harder.”
Although it may seem like the Senior Kairos leaders have a lot on their plate, they are coping amazingly well. Surprisingly, their stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep is due to college applications and school work, rather than Kairos itself.