Photos courtesy of Sidney Derzon
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Last summer, Sidney Derzon, a New Albany resident and Columbus Academy senior, spent five weeks in Colorado at the High Mountain Institute (HMI), an independent school that combines academic enrichment and wilderness expeditions. Derzon took two classes, participated in leadership and ethics discussions, summited the second highest mountain in the continental United States, and met people from around the world.
When she returned from what she called “a life-changing experience” to her senior year at Columbus Academy, the school she had attended since kindergarten was waiting for her.
Derzon’s parents, John and Marah, moved to New Albany before she and her younger brother, Matthew, a sophomore at Columbus Academy, were born. She lives next door to her best friend and appreciates that, when they were younger, the tight-knit New Albany community allowed for them to “wander off on our own and explore without our parents worrying about us,” she says.
Understanding that her experience isn’t like every teen’s, Derzon set out to raise awareness about an issue that affects more than 2,000 Columbus area teens: homelessness. In September, Derzon organized a sleep out with nearly 50 students from Columbus Academy in pursuit of building empathy by simulating the challenges that a homeless teen faces during the night.
“This is the only home I’ve had, which makes it very special to me.” - Sidney Derzon
To do this, Derzon partnered with Huckleberry House, a teen homeless shelter and crisis center in Columbus, and invited Becky Westerfelt, executive director of Huckleberry House, and Michael Corey, executive director at Human Service Chamber of Franklin County, to speak to the students about the extent and severity of teen homelessness. Derzon also arranged for the evening to serve as a benefit for the shelter.
“In addition to the speakers, we made toiletry kits, fleece-tie blankets and decorated composition books,” she says.
During the day that followed the sleep out, Derzon accompanied other students on a visit to the Huckleberry House and met with some of the teens in the shelter.
“(It was) a very powerful and meaningful experience,” Derzon says. “It makes me really think about everything I have to be grateful for and the adversities these teens have to face.”
While her senior year will be busy with college applications and visits (to the mountains in Colorado or out east, she hopes), Derzon isn’t rushing; there’s too much to enjoy during her final year of high school, she explains, which comes with many traditions at Columbus Academy.
“My favorite has to be senior-kindergarten buddies,” she says.
Every senior gets paired with a kindergartner for the year, and they participate in various activities such as a zoo trip, pep rallies, pumpkin decorating and reading together. Because Derzon attended Columbus Academy for kindergarten, this tradition has come full circle for her.
“I remember when I was in kindergarten getting my senior buddy, and I’ve been looking forward to this moment probably since middle school,” she says. “It’s a pretty special tradition we do that adds moments of joy throughout a stressful senior year.”
Derzon’s senior schedule is no joke. In addition to being a member of the basketball team in the winter and the lacrosse team in the spring, Derzon helps run a club at the school called Art Society.
“We plan different events such as Arts Mania, gallery displays, guest speakers and this year we are planning on looking at more art in Columbus,” she says.
Art is one of Derzon’s favorite subjects, and last year she won two Gold Keys for her photography at the Central Ohio Scholastic Art Awards. She is also a yearbook editor, head of the new student orientation leaders, babysits every weekend, and loves to shoot photography, cook and learn calligraphy – all in her “spare time.”
While her future may take her out of central Ohio, Derzon feels strongly about her ties to her city and her school.
“New Albany is my hometown and the place I’ve grown up in,” she says. “This is the only home I’ve had, which makes it very special to me.”
Bob Valasek is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
