Student Life

What was once an occasional pick-me-up is now a daily routine for many students, promising better focus, stronger workouts, and the stamina to balance academics, athletics, and social lives. As brightly colored cans fill the halls, energy drinks have quietly become a defining part of student culture at St. Andrew’s. 

The classic energy drink typically has blends of caffeine that include guarana, yerba mate, green tea extract, and cocoa. While these ingredients may sound healthy, they still stimulate the nervous system and can lead to increased heart rate, anxiety, and difficulty falling asleep. Especially for students with early morning practices, late night homework and packed schedules, caffeine feels more necessary rather than optional. 

Although energy drinks are supposedly a solution for focus, the potential health risks on the label that people don't usually look at can become a real harm for when students and staff begin to experience the first hand side effects.

The American Medical Association suggests that young kids and teens should try their best to avoid large amounts of caffeine and even caffeine in general if possible. “The Food and Drug Administration considers less than 400 milligrams of caffeine per day as safe,” said Dr. Fernandes of the AMA, which “is about two to three 12-ounce cups of coffee a day.” Although this sounds like an extreme amount, many adults become immune to caffeine and no longer gain the wanted effect of energy and awareness. Additionally caffeine raises both blood pressure and heart rate even in just small doses. 

Three of the most popular energy drinks students drink today are Red Bull, Celsius and Bloom Nutrition. Red Bull launched in Austria in 1987 and grew their brand through associating with extreme sports and creating the slogan Red Bull “gives you wings.” Celsius, first appearing in 2004 marketed itself as an energy drink that claimed to “boost your metabolism and provide clean energy.” Bloom energy founded in 2019 by Mari Llewellyn and Greg LaVecchia initially started off as a superfood greens brand and later launched an energy drink in July of 2024. Bloom is built around gut health and influencer marketing. While each brand is different in its own ways, their branding strategies reflect how the energy drink industry has evolved to appeal to newer generations.

School Nurse Molly Finlay says that “while these energy drinks provide short term focus, I didn't have a single one while I was pregnant and definitely know the health risks as I have ADHD and I know caffeine can sometimes make that worse.” Her experience with energy drinks reflects an honest self reflection that while they taste good and can be useful,  she sacrificed this caffeine intake because of the potential risk especially while pregnant. For some students with ADHD or anxiety these drinks can often cause increased anxiety, jitteriness and irritability. Similar to Nurse Finlay's response Delany Imes 28’ says “I have ADHD and agree that although it depends on the drink, I frequently get the jitters after consuming caffeine." Despite knowing the potential health factors, Finlay and Imes both still frequently drink energy drinks on a daily basis. Although energy drinks promise better focus and performance, for many people they become a routine habit rather than a real need.

Jack Dial 27’ admits that although he is aware of the risks, “It gets me locked in and wakes me up when I need to study,” making it hard to give up. Similar to Dial's preferences, Roman Lubetsky ‘27 “chooses RedBull 9/10 times because of the flavor” and adds “it gets me very hype before basketball and football games.” The effects have a wide range of variety. For example, Campbell Queen 27’, a constant energy drink consumer, says “They used to wake me up but the effect has slowly worn off over time because of how often I drink them.”  These mixed responses highlight although there will always be underlying factors, the routine of cracking open a can in the morning or before practice often outweighs the hesitation. The question remains: are energy drinks fueling students success, or quietly becoming something we depend on and can't function without?

Have you ever gone to a class and noticed two teachers in the same room? This phenomenon is a result of the Teaching Fellows program at St. Andrew’s. The fellows program at St. Andrew’s is the process by which the school helps to broaden the pool of teachers at independent schools, according to Dr. Gustavo Garza, who runs the program at the Upper School. Fellows are paired with a mentor teacher, and by shadowing a teacher currently at St. Andrew's, they have the opportunity to learn how to teach. Dr. Garza shared that the program allows prospective teachers to attend conferences, sit in on classes and eventually teach later in the year. Over the course of the year, the program is able to prepare the fellows how to teach a class of their own, whether that be here at St. Andrew’s or a different school. Dr. Garza said that there are “great people out there and great people here, and we are all working together to build really good teams of educators.” 

The Teaching Fellows Program, which is co-directed by Dr. Garza and Dr. Carla Childs, aims to have three fellows per year, one at each division. Compared to other schools with similar programs, the SAS program allows fellows to go to conferences and shows them the whole world of teaching, from the beginning. In the past, the Fellows program has been for just one year. But now the program is being expanded to consist of two years, which current Upper School fellow, Ms. Abeni Brown has been invited back for. Dr. Garza explains that the program is nimble, with an ability to be changed for each fellow so that they can have the best experience possible. The second year is still under development. The first year will be the same as it has been.

This year’s Lower School Fellow is Naidelin Sanchez-Melchor, who specializes in Physical Education and comes from Huston-Tillotson University. According to Dr. Childs, Sanchez-Melchor has been “an incredible addition to our community.” Childs said that Sanchez-Melchor recently “took the lead on planning and teaching a kicking and soccer unit for our Lower School PE classes.” Though the work varies from day to day, Childs said that “On any given day, you'll find her collaborating with her mentor, Maria Brummer, refining her craft through a cycle of planning, teaching, and reflection.”

Ms. Abeni Brown, this year's current Teaching Fellow at the Upper School, joined the program at the beginning of the school year after studying biology at Boston University in 2025.  After discovering the teaching program online, Ms. Brown was immediately hooked by St. Andrew’s four pillars, and later sold by the interview. Shortly after moving to Austin from Nacogdoches, Ms. Brown began her first phase of the program in late August. She shared that a day in the life of a Teaching Fellow looks like this: possible faculty meeting in the morning, a free block to take a break or sub into a class, and one class of teaching. 

Ms. Brown’s teacher mentor is Mr. Jeff Osborne: a beloved freshman Biology and Forensics teacher. He has taught her a lot so far, she said. Especially that students are the main priority. “Mr. Osborne is great at staying calm and collected and knowing what to prioritize and focus on. Students are always the priority, and there's so many things to get done today as a teacher that can get a little overwhelming,” said Ms. Brown. “He has really taught me to stay calm, figure out what's important, and then carry on from there.”

So far, Ms. Brown has been extremely surprised by how well St. Andrew’s cultivates a sense of community and kindness: “I think St. Andrew’s just cultivates this community of, you know, being humble and really caring about everybody,” she said. If there was one thing Ms. Brown could change about the program: it would be this: “I would say I want to get started teaching faster.” Preferably a shorter observation period and a quicker transition into the teaching phase.

Ms. Brown and Mr. Osborne are a dynamic duo, planning lessons together, performing labs for students, and answering any question imaginable. Ms. Brown helps Mr. Osborne and learns from his calm and caring approach to whatever task lies ahead. Ms. Brown helps set up the classroom, keep students at bay, and provides a different voice in the room.

Mr. Osborne really appreciates Ms. Brown and all of her hard work, reflecting that “she is so, so helpful!” In the scenario that Mr. Osborne is running late, or has a lot going on, Ms. Brown always steps in and gets the job done. He thinks that it is always better for her to sub for his classes because she really knows what is going on and is a good resource for the students.

In the case that sometimes Mr. Osborne doesn't always relate with a certain student or generation, Mr. Osborne says that Ms. Brown’s age allows her to form close relationships with students and the Science Department has seen how students react to her and her classes and how students feel that she “has their back.”

Mr. Osborne really enjoys talking to Ms. Brown about class and all things science, and notes that “Ms. Brown makes life much more interesting. She is able to talk about what we do and I am also learning things from her.”

Last year, Ms. Nitya Rayapati was a Teaching Fellow in the English Department under mentor Ms. Konradi. She now teaches full time at St.Andrew’s. While the program does not automatically give jobs to fellows, if they are a good fit they are able to apply to continue their teaching career at St. Andrew’s. If there is not an opening to apply for, they are supported and encouraged to find and apply to other teaching jobs. With Ms. Rayapati, she was offered a job at St. Andrew’s right away because she was a good fit and there was an opening. Now as a teacher at St.Andrew’s, Ms.Rayapati teaches 9th and 11th grade English. In an interview, Ms. Rayapati said that “Having some slow time to really dive deeply into how to teach or what works or how to be flexible I think was really helpful for this year.” 

 Dr. Garza remarks that “The point of the program ultimately is how do you sustain your teaching community.” Through the teaching program, the pool of teachers at independent schools is able to broaden in a healthy and sustainable way. Dr. Childs states that “We aren't just looking to hire great teachers; we are shaping a culture of innovation in our classrooms that benefits both our current and future students.” Often, schools want teachers with doctorates or advanced degrees, which limits opportunities to younger aspiring teachers, but through the Fellows program Dr. Garza says that “New young teachers that deserve a shot can be given one.”