Bryant has been home to countless students for their entire school career. It is sometimes harder to recognize the advantages and disadvantages of a school when there is nothing else to compare it to.

Junior Maria Millican came from Hall High School. The school has over 1,000 enrolled students and is part of the Little Rock School District. Millican describes it as crowded and violent.

“Students would bring guns and knives to school,” Millican said. “The teachers couldn’t say anything. No one wanted to discipline the kids, because they didn’t want them acting out, since the students would threaten them.”

Millican wanted to distance herself from Hall High.

“I wanted to go somewhere that I felt safe,” Millican said. “I didn’t want to be in school [at Hall]. I was so scared, because I thought something would happen to me.”

At the start of her junior year, Millican transferred schools.

“My first day at Bryant was calming,” Millican said. “It was a lot better than Hall. I didn’t feel threatened, or like my life was in danger. I could just get along with everybody.”

Before his dad took an assistant manager job at TruGreen Lawn Care, sophomore Angel Figueroa attended Harlem High School in Illinois. At Harlem, creating a strong support system is encouraged.

“It was a good, positive environment,” Figueroa said. “We had this one kid who was [in] special-ed, and if anyone ever messed with him, the football players would make sure it didn’t happen again.”

He was surprised by the spread out campus at Bryant. The population of Harlem High is only 500-1,000 students fewer than Bryant’s, and the school is located in one building.

“It was confusing and tiring trying to find everything [on this campus],” Figueroa said. “I didn’t realize how much walking you had to do.”

Figueroa appreciated the campus security at Harlem.

“I think it was more well-run at Harlem,” Figueroa said. “They had cameras covering everywhere, there [were] always hall monitors and someone went and checked the bathroom every 15 minutes.”

Up until November of 2013, sophomore Amberly Holiman was in the Bryant School District, but a new job opportunity for her dad moved the family to Heber Springs.

“I didn’t want to go, so it made me really sad,” Holiman said. “I had to leave my life and friends behind.”

The average school day at Heber Springs High started at eight in the morning, ended at 2:51 and followed a block schedule. Other than this, the school was similar to Bryant.

“The teachers were more laid back at Heber, but the standards in education were pretty much the same,” Holiman said. “As long as we tried our best and turned our work in, we were good.”

Near the beginning of her sophomore year, Holiman was able to move back.

“I’m so glad to be back with my friends,” Holiman said. “I belong at Bryant.”