By Mason Quigley and Malcolm Pace

Photo courtesy of Rob Wedge.

Upper School economics and government teacher Robert Wedge has been in it for the long haul with the class of 2024, coaching many of them in football, basketball, and baseball from Cub Sports through 10th Grade, as well as guiding them in their academic endeavors throughout their four years of Upper School.

Wedge describes the class as “hard-working and dedicated to their craft,” while acknowledging that this class, in his opinion, was “the most negatively affected by the COVID year,” due to social and academic limitations in their first year of Upper School in 2020-2021. Wedge also believes that the emergence of COVID-19 has set back nearly all Collegiate athletic programs, since as incoming Freshmen, many current Seniors never had an opportunity to play games in the 2020-21 school year.

He stated that although he has positive opinions of the class of ‘24, he believes that “The COVID year has led the class to be way more sneaky,” without giving specific examples of this mischief. Wedge believes that the class of ‘24 has a wide array of characters with different interests and habits. However, when asked what the defining characteristic of the class is, he struggled to find an answer. After contemplating a response, he finally concluded, “The defining characteristic of the class is that it doesn’t have one.” This shows the wide range of skills and interests that the class of ‘24 possesses and what differentiates it from past classes. Wedge has enjoyed watching the class grow up, from 8th Grade through 12th, and is proud of their development from kids to adults in that time.