The identity of Carlsbad High School is greatly influenced by its proximity to the ocean. From student life to the community, the ocean is tied into the Carlsbad High School’s athletics, morals and daily campus culture.
Sophomore Avery Reed is an avid beach goer. She spends her summers surfing at local beaches, and taking in the sunsets by the water on weekends during the school year.
“It’s definitely a mood booster living so close to the ocean, and especially going to school where it’s a 5 minute drive to the beach,” Reed said. “I think it’s so cool seeing the beach on my drive to school, and even seeing it through the windows in my English class.”
Reed shares that being a school on the coast makes students more aware of their impact on nature. Learning about marine life conservation gives students the knowledge to know how to treat their environment.
“Everyone is aware of littering and how trash can affect the ocean and the beaches,” Reed said. “Being able to put what we learn about conserving marine life into real life makes you a lot more respectable to the environment around us.”
Junior Duncan Reilly is a part of the Carlsbad High surf team and participates in Surf PE off-campus. Living so close to the beach has opened up doors for him in his surfing career and being able to practice alongside his classmates helps keep him determined to continue practicing.
“It’s really nice to have the choice to participate in a PE [class] that is specific to the area we live in,” Reilly said. “It also gives kids who didn’t grow up with a family who enjoyed going to the beach a chance to try something new, with the support of your classmates who will hype you up in the water.”
Reilly expresses that the proximity to the ocean not only influences student’s activities, but also benefits their mental health. It allows students to have a space to slow down and relax.
“Being so close to the ocean is really helpful to keeping me calm when I am dealing with stress or during finals,” Reilly said. “I use the ocean to my advantage as an outlet, I go surfing, swimming, or even diving, and it really helps me get back on track for the rest of the school week by calming my nervous system.”
Sophomore Ella Hayes participates in CHS’s Beach Volleyball program. Hayes embodies the school’s ocean identity, echoing how its environment affects the campus from the shoreline behind it.
“Last season we would sometimes dunk in the ocean after practice[while] still being warm in March in Carlsbad,” Hayes said. “It just makes me really appreciate being able to play on the actual beach instead of having to play on a manmade court like some other high schools inland.”
The waves of Carlsbad’s beaches impact CHS’s identity. Through sports, after-school activities and culture, the ocean’s influence will continue to rise among the students of Carlsbad.
“I am just really grateful to have the opportunity to live and go to school so close to the ocean,” said Hayes. “It’s such a blessing to live where people dream of traveling to.”
