The end of the year is a time for reflection, and for senior Sherikco “Rikcoo” Sherrill, who transferred from Normandy High School last year and then returned second semester this year, the end of the year comes as a time to reflect on her experiences as a transfer student and how she’s grown during her time here.
“I probably wouldn’t have met as many people as I did, and, you know, you learn different things from different people,” Rikcoo said.
According to Rikcoo, at Normandy a lot of responsibility was put on students to keep their grades up and to stay on top of their work, whereas at FHN teachers and counselors were more involved with students and would alert them if they had a failing grade. Rikcoo’s counselor, Rachel Faulkner, got involved when she was having trouble in a class and helped her turn it around. According to Rikcoo, that support was very important to her overall success.
“They definitely push you more here,” Rikcoo said. “You got other people here that’s trying to help you stay on your game. I’m real independent, but it was nice knowing that I had that support.”
One thing that struck Rikcoo as a difference between FHN and Normandy was the demographic change. Normandy is a mostly black school, and FHN is a mostly white school, so the adjustment was something to get used to. In addition, the mindset of students at Normandy, according to Rikcoo, wasn’t really geared towards learning and teachers would get frustrated, which inhibited their teaching. That’s why when she was able to come back to FHN this semester, both she and the friends she’d made here were happy about it.
“I was really excited when she came back [to FHN],” senior Megan Tanksley, friend of Rikcoo’s, said. “We’d become good friends, and I knew she didn’t really like Normandy, and I knew she wanted to be back here, so it was exciting.”
Rikcoo took Personal Finance her junior year and that’s where she met business teacher Mim Eaton, who Rikcoo has grown close to since returning to FHN. Since Rikcoo often travels by taxi to school and arrives earlier than most students, she hangs out in Eaton’s room. One thing that Eaton remembers about first meeting Rikcoo was that she was outgoing and made friends easily.
“She has a good attitude and she was willing to accept whatever happened, and I think she just kind of kept the faith that whatever was meant to be would be, and it turned out to be good,” Eaton said. “She makes friends easily so it doesn’t surprise me that she just fell into place here, like another piece of the puzzle.”
Rikcoo’s plans for after graduation are still a bit up in the air for the moment, but she knows that college is definitely part of them. She’s planning to take some general electives at a community college before deciding on a major, but she knows she wants to do something with culinary arts due to her strong interest in cooking and in people. As she goes on to pursue her goals and dreams, she’s thankful for FHN having made her a different, better person.
“Francis Howell helped me better my attitude,” Rikcoo said. “It actually helped me grow up because when I first got here my junior year, I was doing real bad because my mindset wasn’t right. It helped me a lot going to the counselor and helping me stand on my head. It helped me mature.”
