Interviews by Camille Halley and Kira Brenner
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Carolyn Insley
Michael Galea
Kimi Hasizume
Jeffrey Bragg
Patrick Garcialuna
Jesenia Garcia-Rovetta
Eduardo Saldana
Gabriella Franco
New York University
What made you choose NYU?
I have lived here my whole life and I wanted something different and new. It is such a good school too. I am excited to be in New York City!
What is exciting about New York City for you?
To be completely honest, I am most excited about the food. There are also so many cultures there. There are so many things to try.
What do you want to take away from college?
Besides a degree, I want to meet people and make friendships that last a really long time.
Were there other paths you had considered following?
I had thought about going into culinary school, but I thought that I would try regular college. Although ending up at a school in New York might have been a strategic move subconsciously.
Do you have any advice for students applying to college?
Colleges are looking for really well rounded students. I wish I had tried more extracurricular activities. I never did a lot of clubs, that would have been cool.
What will you miss most about high school?
My friends- this little family we’ve built up here. I’ll try to stay in touch by video chatting and convincing friends to come visit me in New York.
What will your rooming arrangement be like next year?
Well a lot of people think NYU has no real campus, but we have dorms. I applied to live apartment style in the dorms. I took a short survey and I find out the rooming information July 13th.
What restaurant or store you go to in California, that is not in New York, will you miss the most?
Probably Cha Cha Cha Cuba. I’ll miss the food there. I suppose they will have great Cuban food in New York as well though.
What was attractive to you about the size of NYU?
I wanted to meet a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds. What is good though is that I will still have smaller classes. The classes are not all 200 people in a lecture hall.
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College of San Mateo
What will you be studying next year?
Music. I’ll be continuing to study my instrument, the trumpet. Most of my classes will be music related. I’ll be taking a Jazz History class next year; it’s something new for me to try. I won’t just be playing, I’ll get to go into other parts of music.
What career are you hoping to pursue?
I want to teach at Aragon one day. I like it here. Mr. Davis has been one of the greatest inspirations for me; he’s one of my best friends.
When did you know you wanted to go into music?
Ever since I entered high school I knew that music is what I wanted to do. When I walked into my first music class at Aragon I knew right away. I thought this looks awesome, count me in.
How are you planning to pursue your ideal career?
Since I want to be a music teacher I’ll earn my credentials to teach and hopefully play trumpet on the side. I’ll go to CSM for two years and then transfer to a university.
What was one of your favorite parts about music at Aragon?
Nothing will ever top the experience I had in Jazz. Scott Bell, the lead trumpet, has grown to be a little brother to me. I get all my trumpet playing tips, tricks, and help from Scott and he’s two years younger than me.
What is the most impressive part about Aragon?
The staff here treats you as an individual. I told them I wanted to be a music major and they really listened.
What will you miss most about high school?
I will miss band and everyone in music. It is nice to be in a room where everyone is dedicated. It is powerful what you can do with music in this kind of environment.
What tips do you have for future Aragon musicians?
Keep practicing. It should be your passion if you want to pursue it. I practice three hours a day. You need to always improve your playing somehow. There is always something you can work on.
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University of San Francisco
What was the most attractive part of USF and how did you choose it?
Some parts that I really liked about the school was that it had great and easy transportation. It also has a great schedule in terms of the breaks. It’s very close to the airport, which makes it convenient. When I visited it had a really nice library.
What made you want to pursue nursing?
I have always been interested and wanted to go in to the medical field and especially for neonatal and pediatrics. I chose USF because they have a really good accelerated nursing program.
Did any of the classes at Aragon help you to pursue a career in the medical field?
I took AP statistics and AP biology to help me with my future requisites at USF. Those teachers helped a lot: Mr. Kundin and Ms. Ward.
What are your reasons for staying close to home?
The two best nursing programs in California that I was interested in were at Saint Mary’s and USF. I was going to apply to the University of Hawaii, it is a really nice school, but there were other factors that stopped me from applying. Hawaii is really far away. It is very expensive and that was probably the biggest factor.
What will be the hardest part about leaving home?
I am used to talking to my best friends every single day. It will be tricky not seeing them every day. And making new friends that I will be close to. It will be difficult not seeing family or my boyfriend everyday. My mom thinks she’s going to come up once a week to visit me.
Did you do any clubs or sports in high school, and will you continue them in college?
I did track from freshman to junior year. I also did dragon boating for two or three years. I don’t think I will have time to do any anything else in college though.
What made you interested in pediatrics?
I’m specifically interested in pediatrics because I volunteered in kindergarten and special education classes. It’s important to have a good childhood. It’s the basis of a good life–most of the time.
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University of Arizona
What drew you to this college?
I liked Arizona because it has a really good engineering program. It’s also a Pac-12 school. Both of my parents went to Cal and my sister goes to Oregon. They are both Pac-12 schools too. That rivalry is fun, especially between Oregon and Arizona.
What do you recommend to students applying to college next year?
Give yourself a lot of options. You have to apply to target schools and reach schools. Start applying early, as soon as the applications are online look at them and see the essay prompts- start brainstorming then.
When you first visited Arizona what was your impression?
At first I wasn’t sure if I liked it. It’s hard to describe what it was. But by the time we left it had started to grow on me. We took that campus tour and I went to the information session for engineering.
What draws you to engineering?
When I was younger I was actually interested in architecture. But I realized that it is not as functional, it was more like art. Everything has engineering though. It is universal.
Other than a degree, what is something you want to get out of college?
It’s not the degree that makes college, it’s the concept behind the degree. High school shapes you as a person; it makes you who you are. High school is where you find out what kind of person you are. In college you figure out what that person is going to do.
What is something you like that is unique to Arizona’s engineering program?
There are 13 different types of engineering you can choose from at Arizona. It’s cool because they don’t allow you to declare a specific one until junior year. Then you declare you specific major.
What will you miss about Aragon?
Arizona is a much bigger school. When I am walking down a hallway at school I will see at least ten people that I know and can say hi to, at Arizona that definitely won’t happen.
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UC Berkeley
Did your Aragon experience influence your decision to attend UC Berkeley?
To an extent. I remember last year I had a few friends that were always talking about Berkeley, and there were definitely things they said that made me consider it to a higher degree. Ms. Wang was always talking about Berkeley and how good it was, so I guess that kind of influenced it too.
What courses do you look forward to the most?
At this point, I’m kind of just going for lab work and some biology, [particularly] cell development. I’m hoping I can also get some extracurriculars, like continuing music. My intended major is cell development.
What will be the hardest part about leaving home?
Probably just not seeing my brother everyday. There are some things that he does that get on my nerves occasionally but, when he’s gone, it’s a lot more quiet and not nearly as fun.
What advice do you have for students who are interested in UC Berkeley?
Don’t assume you’re not going to get it. Especially this year when people were saying there was a 20 percent increase in out-of-state students and it was going to be incredibly hard to get it. If you apply, at least you have the chance.
What originally attracted you to UC Berkeley?
What originally attracted me was the academic rigor that was attributed to it…[My friend] was also saying what a great environment it was, and that made me look forward to it, knowing that there were people like-minded to me and that I had a lot in common with most of the people going there.
Do you feel that Aragon has prepared you for your college?
I feel that Aragon has given me a foundation and shown me what I want to pursue in college and what I might not want to. It terms of academic rigor, I feel like I probably had the most near-college experience in AP Biology.
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Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
How did your experience at Aragon influence your vision for Cal Poly?
I already knew that I wanted to be a computer engineer because my dad is one. I’m good at math…I just finished Calculus BC…so it just kind of fit. I want to animate movies.
What courses do you look forward to the most?
I’m really just excited to be there. It’s very hands-on and I’m excited to work with all the actual technology.
What will be the hardest part about leaving home?
Leaving friends and family. I’ve been with these people for so long. Making new friends will be hard too.
What advice do you have for other students who are interested in the school you chose?
[Admission] is really about the grades. You have to take the right classes for your major, too. Take the most challenging classes.
What originally attracted you to the school you chose?
It seemed really good and I needed a safety. It is a CSU but it’s basically a UC. Cal Poly looks really good [to employers.]
What spectator sport do you look forward to the most at Cal Poly?
Cal Poly has themed dorms, and I’m joining Mustang Pride, so we’ll all go see games and get dressed up together.
Which friends or family members will you miss the most?
I’ll miss my dogs and my sister. I’ll miss being able to talk to her all the time. Sisters just have a bond.
Do you feel that Aragon has prepared you for your college?
Yes, AP courses do a good job of prepping you for the work load. It really prepares you for college classes.
What are your goals or plans for after college?
Hopefully, I’ll be animating. Dreamworks is right around here, so maybe [I will end up] working there. But, right now, you don’t even know what’ll be big in four years.
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The Arts Institute of California
Did your experience at Aragon influence your decision to attend the Arts Institute of California?
A little bit. I’ve been doing music a long time. I’ve played instruments before and I was in band here for two years, so that kind of brought me a little more to that.
What courses do you look forward to the most?
Probably music recording. Physics I have to do, and that actually kind of interests me a little. I’m kind of looking forward to that, [so] we’ll see how that goes.
What advice do you have for other students who are interested in the Arts Institute of California?
The first thing is, pay attention and do your work, of course. But, if you want anything in the arts, take classes that are related to that and go out and get experience…With my music, I have done recording before, I have done design and created soundtracks for movies I’ve done. I’ve been able to write music, too, because I’ve played instruments before.
What originally attracted you to the school you chose?
I think the thing that originally attracted me was my love for the arts. I was in photography, music and that’s what pretty much brought me to it. I’ve had a little experience in all the fields, like photography, I’ve been doing that for a while, but music’s more of my thing. Audio engineering is what I’m majoring in.
Do you feel that Aragon has prepared you for your college?
Yeah, I feel like it’s prepared me. We have good teachers who know what they’re doing. They know how to teach and will prepare you well…When I’ve asked for help, [Ms. Reed and Ms. Katcher] have given me good ideas or inspired me to do a little more.
What are your goals or plans for after college?
Get hired at a good place where I can do my job as an audio engineer…I have been looking at like Sony, or Disney, or some of the video game companies.
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Foothill College
How did your experience at Aragon influence your decision?
Ms. Trish talked to me about it and she told me that [Foothill] was one of the best places for dance, so that definitely helped a lot.
What were your other top choices for college?
I was thinking about Skyline and De Anza. But, Skyline is cold and De Anza is far.
What courses do you look forward to the most?
Definitely my childhood development and dance classes.
What advice do you have for other students who are interested in the school you chose?
It’s a good school, it’s just kind of far. Make sure they have the program you’re looking for.
Do you plan on joining any clubs/intramural sports?
I plan on doing their Foothill Dance company and there’s also this childhood development group they have that I plan on joining.
Do you feel that Aragon has prepared you for your college?
For my childhood development major, definitely. I’ve seen [kids] in action… [My Psychology class] has helped me understand how people work and it helps me with the kids in my classes.
What are your plans after college?
My goal is to find a dance company, dance until I’m 35, and then teach, probably elementary school because [the kids] are nicer.
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