Reporting by Kyra Hsieh and Allinah Zhan
Noah Shefer: Aerospace Engineering
What led you to decide on this path?
When [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] landed a rover on Mars five years ago, I was watching it and I thought it was very cool. And I decided that I wanted to do something similar to that. [I also found] what SpaceX is doing right now with the reusable rockets and landing massive rockets and their whole Starlink and NASA’s Artemis program [very inspiring].
How did you decide on your major and then California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo specifically?
I’ve always wanted to do engineering. I’m a very math and science person. I thought aerospace was always the coolest of the engineering [disciplines]. For Cal Poly, I just love it. Everyone’s really nice, great weather. I love the vibe.
What experiences have you had related to your major so far?
Sailing, technically. Sails are basically wings and [they involve] aerodynamics and drag and all that stuff. [I do sailing in] Redwood City and all around the Bay Area on different types of boats. I’ve learned about how aerodynamics works, how airplanes work and how you can adjust the shape of the wing to get better performance. Cal Poly has a club team and I’m going to be competing on it.
Chloe Levadoux: International Relations
Why did you choose to study abroad?
I’ve always loved to travel. From the moment I was on a plane at two months old moving to France, I [had] the travel bug. Studying abroad in new places enables you to really gain a new understanding of the world … I had such a good experience the first time I did a summer study abroad. It was such a liberating experience. It really shifted how I looked at high school and college. It made me very much capable of being independent and operating by myself.
Why did you choose Prague and Buenos Aires?
I chose Prague because I’ve always adored that part of Europe. I felt like Prague might teach me more in terms of doing something really different, and the logic was the same for Buenos Aires, as it was much further out of my comfort zone because it’s in South America, a continent I haven’t been on.
Why did you choose international relations?
Currently I am declared as political science, but I will likely be studying international relations, or political science with a focus on international relations … I love people and I love the human perspective. I really want to do work towards human rights, not only in the U.S. but globally. I want to do whatever I can to enable people to live fully and to have equal opportunity.
Camryn Walsh: Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Why did you choose to study biology?
I took an [Advanced Placement] Biology class my junior year, and I was super, super interested in it. And it felt like the right path of what I would want to do.
Why did you choose University of Colorado Boulder?
My brother goes to Boulder, so when I visited, I got just like this energy, and I just knew it was where I wanted to go.
What are you most excited about?
I’m just excited for all the new things, like a new state, a bunch of new people, [and] a really big school. I’m excited for the fresh start … Greek life is really big at Boulder, and my brother’s in a fraternity. He loves it. He’s totally found his people and has really amazing friendships with them. A bunch of my girl cousins are in sororities, and they loved it. I’ve always been someone who likes a big group of friends around me, and I think [Greek life] the perfect way to do that.
Eddie Margolin: Interior Design
What made you choose interior design?
I have always loved simulation games. And I, as a kid, really loved decorating and playing video games, like Animal Crossing and Happy Home Designer. I played [these games] probably three times over, but it was only until last year that I realized that was a job that I could do. And then I saw the poster for the interior design class this year, so I’m taking the class right now … At one point [my interest in art] was fashion design, then it cultivated into interior design.
Did others around you influence your decisions and how did they react?
[My mom has] always influenced my passion for the arts, because, [when I was] young, she [encouraged] me to draw … I only applied to about six colleges, and the two that I was really interested in were [Savannah College of Art and Design,] and [Rhode Island School of Design] because my mom went there … When I told [my dad] I’m going into interior design, my dad immediately went, ‘yeah, that’s the thing that makes most sense for you.’
Thomas Williams: Business Management
What are your plans after high school?
I am planning on going to the University of Toronto in Canada … I got into this co-op business program, [where] I have a guaranteed job sophomore [and] junior year that pays about 70 thousand working at companies like Google or [Bank of Montreal] … I’m going to be doing practical [economics] business management, and I’m also planning on dual majoring in biomedical engineering.
Why did you choose business?
My dad and my brother both have chronic hand conditions that prevent them from living their best lives. My dad, from playing volleyball when he was younger, and my brother from playing video games. I thought from a young age [that] I want to help them live their lives to the fullest. And that got into the realm of: “Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back” [where] Luke got his hand cut off, and then he got a new one, and it was perfect … I was just transfixed at that moment [and] I was like, “I want to do prosthetics.” Then I started thinking about the business side of it, and getting more pragmatic as I got older … And so I went into business because it is one of the only professions that actually lets you retire young.
Mana Ueno: Fashion Business Management
What led you to majoring in fashion business management?
I was always interested in fashion … One of my family members, my aunt, is a very big person in the fashion industry, especially in the business side, and I’ve been very inspired by her, and I just really gravitated towards fashion all my life.
How did other people around you react?
Going to fashion school and learning about a specific thing in the arts is unorthodox, and it’s not the typical college path people would imagine, but my family was very supportive of me. My friends were really proud of me, so I’m really glad that I had support. But, when I tell people that I’m going to fashion school, they assume it’s a passion instead of a career, but it’s really important to understand that there’s someone that has to do the job behind the passion to gear it towards wider audiences. There’s somebody who has to do the business in the arts to make it into a functioning system. It’s important that I do this as my career, and even though it seems like a passion project, it’s an important job … You can do business even though you’re not passionate about it, but there’s definitely some aspects that you have to be passionate about in order to succeed. And I’m very passionate about fashion because I can see things from a wider perspective.
Jeremiah Santos: Electrician
Why did you choose this path?
I’m hoping to become an electrician and learn how to apply it to my civilian life afterwards. I always wanted to do trade school or do something that correlates with my hand. I just like being outdoorsy. I just don’t want to sit down all day working on papers. That’s what I aspire to do — not just become an electrician, but to be comfortable in life.
What are you most looking forward to?
I’m most excited for the boot camp because there’s going to be a lot of experiences for me. I want to travel around the world because I get to be on the ocean. I’d like to see Spain and Japan. I’m very interested in visiting those countries.
What challenges do you think you’ll face?
Well, there should be a lot. One is waking up in the morning. Because in the Navy, you wake up around 4 a.m. and you work till [9 p.m.] I’m going to adapt because I’m obligated to do it, or else they’ll just kick me out.
Naveen Schwawrzkopf: Music
What are your plans after high school?
I’m going to Harvard and attending the joint studies program with Harvard University and Berklee School of Music, [which is] a conservatory of music in Boston. The joint studies program is where you are a full time student at Harvard [where] you can major in whatever you’d like … And while you’re at Harvard, you [can] take classes at Berklee School of Music … So you’re getting a taste of that conservatory experience at Berklee while still being a student at Harvard … I plan on trying out more things and seeing if any other academic subject interests me.
What led you to this decision?
I don’t know what I want to explore, what I want to major in or study in academics, and I don’t really know what I want to study in music. I’m a jazz saxophone player. But I also play piano, I play a bit of guitar, I sing and I want to get more into songwriting and audio production. So I have a lot of interest in academics and a lot of interest in music. So Harvard, being liberal arts, and having amazing opportunities in academics gives me the most opportunities to explore all those different areas and see what I like. And Berklee School of Music is the biggest conservatory in the world. There’s 6000 kids all playing music, so they have so many different possibilities of musical study, like music therapy and music history and all kinds of really niche stuff that you can’t get anywhere else. So I like the fact that both of those institutions offer a very large breadth of study for me to explore.
Why not be a professional musician?
It’s certainly not an easy career to make a living out of. The people I know that are pursuing that are just doing it because they love it so much that they would just be miserable if they did anything else. And I’m not that kind of a person … As someone that is interested in a lot of different things, I’m not sure if I have enough dedication to just focus on music specifically and ignore all my other interests.
Akilan Paramsivan: Computer Science
What drew you to computer science?
In 6th grade, I learned Python on a website where I could do coding challenges. Figuring out all the outcomes was pretty interesting. Math is also one of my favorite subjects … I learned Java at APCS, so that was helpful. High school has also allowed me to access community college courses [where] I also learned C++ data structures.
What are you hoping to get out of college, both academically and personally?
[I want to] make friends, get opportunities to do things that I probably can’t do in high school, like working with professors, maybe internships. On the more fun side of college, maybe living in the public buildings.
What other interests do you hope to explore alongside your major in college?
The industry is a pretty cool subject, so if I end up doing a project that comes out into essentially that, computer science would be pretty cool. I also play two instruments, so I’ll try to continue that.
What plans do you have after college?
In my future, I hope to do graduate computer science research after I’m done with college. College is generally the best option for that. Maybe [I’ll get] a PhD or a job.
Ziv Rapoport: Gap Year
What led to the decision to take a gap year?
I always wanted to do some sort of gap year. I didn’t want to really go straight to college. It’s just what I wanted. I probably had a little influence from my parents. And I’m actually planning to do the gap year with one of my friends.
What do you plan to do during your gap year and afterwards?
I’m planning to take a gap year [to do] volunteering work. I’m going to go to India, Sri Lanka and Greece. Then [I’ll] go to Cal Poly State. At Cal Poly I’m planning to major in biomedical engineering.
How did you get interested in your major?
I think I became the most interested in biology from freshman year biology. I had a good teacher. And I think it was like physics and engineering and building. I’m doing biotech right now, and I really like that class. I didn’t want to do just like labs and I wanted to do something more engineering based.
How have your high school experiences influenced you?
[Leaving high school is] kind of scary. Now that I’m about to be an adult, I’ll also miss my childhood, but I think I’m excited for all the opportunities that I have. I really enjoyed playing music in high school. I play the bassoon [and plan on playing it in college]. And I also like to play tennis. I felt like I made good friends in close communities in those areas.
