Graduate_Interview

(26) 2020 Interview with Kamau Richardson, Atholton High School, Howard University

(26) 2020 Interview with Kamau Richardson, Atholton High School, Howard University

Mr. Kamau Richardson graduated from Atholton High School in 2020. He is attending Howard University, majoring Chemical Engineering.

Kamau shared his high school experience on how to manage his time. He shared his secrete to build relationship: be present. He also shared his participation and leadership building experience at Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). Here is the page: https://www.hcpss.org/jrotc/ for your reference. There are three JROTC program in HCPSS ( Atholton, Oakland Mills and Howard High).

There are more to learn. Please tune in.

(25) 2020 Interview with Saniya Vashist, River Hill High School, Stanford University

(25) 2020 Interview with Saniya Vashist, River Hill High School, Stanford University

Ms. Saniya Vashist graduated from River Hill School in 2020. She is attending Stanford University, majoring International Relations and Economics.

Saniya will talk about her gap year choice and her experience receiving support from the Bill&Melinda Gaits Foundation on her CodeHer project. codeHER is an international female youth-run nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls, minorities, and at-risk youth. This project was reported on BaltimoreSun https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland…

You will find more interesting story from her in this interview. Please tune in.

(24) 2020 Interview with Luz Angelica Serna, Hammond High School, University of Maryland

(24) 2020 Interview with Luz Angelica Serna, Hammond High School, University of Maryland

Ms. Luz Angelica Serna graduated from Hammond High School in 2019. She is attending University of Maryland, Baltimore County, majoring in psychology.

In the interview, Luz shared her experience on to balance on activities, overcoming challenges and charged forward to find her interest. Luz also shared why she chose UMBC and psychology as her major. She also talked about the challenge Hammond High School was facing, for example, not renovated for a long time. The good news is that Hammond High School is under renovation (unfortunately after Luz’s graduation) and due to complete in 2023.

There is more to learn. Please tune in.

(23) 2020 Interview with Abigail Furman, Howard High School, UMCP

(23) 2020 Interview with Abigail Furman, Howard High School, UMCP

Ms. Abigail Furman graduated from Howard High School in 2020. She will join University of Maryland, College Park and her major is English, Literature and Language.

Abigail shared her way to have a good routine using a hand-written calendar in her senior, jogging between academics, extra-curriculum activities and internships. She discussed her experience in the Project Lead the Way at ARL, which was difficult, but very valuable. Her advice: That one test does not matter. It is going to be OK. Don’t burn out.

Please tune in for more.

(22) 2020 Interview with Bridgette Kim, Johns Hopkins University

(22) 2020 Interview with Bridgette Kim, Johns Hopkins University

Ms. Bridgette Kim graduated from Pointers Run Elementary School and Lime Kiln Middle School and Our Lady of Good Counsel High School of Montgomery County in 2019. She is attending the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University.

Bridgette is the first student I interviewed who graduated from a private high school, but attended the elementary school and middle school in HCPSS. In the interview, she compared the difference between her private high school experience and her friends’ HCPSS experience. She talked about sports, academics, clubs and many extra-curriculum activities, even her college intern experience. She is actively serving communities both locally and in Baltimore City.

There is more to share. Please tune in.

(21) 2020 Interview with Ian Lang, Wilde Lake High School, UMBC

(21) 2020 Interview with Ian Lang, Wilde Lake High School, UMBC

Mr. Ian Lang, graduated from Wilde Lake High School in 2019. He is attending University of Maryland, Baltimore County, majoring mathematics and economics. I

n high school, he did a lot of music program. His challenge in the senior year came from his chamber choir, a GT level choir course. He adjusted his learning style and pace eventually and built his confidence. He also shared his experience on how he received his first C grade, and then adjust himself and overcame the challenge. He found his interest in math and eventually chose math as his major, while exploring interest in economics.

There are more to share. Please tune in.

(20) 2020 Interview with Ethan Fan, Atholton High School, Georgetown University

(20) 2020 Interview with Ethan Fan, Atholton High School, Georgetown University

Mr. Ethan Fan graduated from Atholton High School. He will join Georgetown University, majoring Biology of Global Health.

In his college application, he said: Don’t let perfection become procrastination. At first, he hesitated to write the application. Then he realized he just needed to write something, little by little and built on that.

He shared that a mindset of going forward and trying something new was critical for the high school success. One reason for his college choice is because he wants to stay close to his parent during the pandemic.

There are much more to learn. Please tune in.

(19) 2020 Interview with Caio Goolsby, Centennial High School, UMCP

(19) 2020 Interview with Caio Goolsby, Centennial High School, UMCP

Mr. Caio Goolsby graduated from Centennial High School in 2020. He will join University of Maryland, College Park, majoring International Relations and Economics.

In this interview, Caio shared the online learning challenge due to covid-19. He also talked about “staying healthy” as a priority while juggling many tasks. Learning to say no is something extremely important.

He was a teacher aiding to help some teachers in high school, which greatly impacted him. He shared that he was bullied in middle school unfortunately and he overcame that.

He joined the “It’s Academic” team in Centennial High, which he enjoyed so much and the team was ranked 7th in the nation in 2018 . Another club is Model United Nations, where he was president for two years. There are more to learn about Caio.

Please tune in.

(18) 2020 Interview with Wyatt Currie, Mt. Hebron High School, University of Pennsylvania

(18) 2020 Interview with Wyatt Currie, Mt. Hebron High School, University of Pennsylvania

Mr. Wyatt Currie graduated from Mt. Hebron High School in 2020 and will join University of Pennsylvania , majoring Finance and Computer Science.

Wyatt shared his time management skills in high school. He also took classes in the dual enrollment program from University of Maryland, Baltimore County by calling them.

He was on the Mt. Hebron’s Economics Challenge team, led by Mr. Vann Prime. The team won numerous awards on state and national levels, and worldwide. He even went to Saint Petersburg , Russia for the international competition last year. Here is HCPSS news update: https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/202…

There are more to learn. Please tune in.

(17) 2020 Interview with Ambika Siddabathula (SMOB), River Hill High, NYIT

(17) 2020 Interview with Ambika Siddabathula (SMOB), River Hill High, NYIT

Ms. Ambika Siddabathula graduated from River Hill High School in 2019. She is attending a 7-year doctor program in New York Institute of Technology(NYIT). Ambika was the student board member (SMOB) of Howard County Board of Education.

In this interview, Ambika shared her experience serving as a student member of our school board, her role in the advisory committee for ARL, her long-lasting love with her dance. She is professional dancer.

There are more to learn. Please tune in.

(16) 2020 Interview with Chelsea Baker, River Hill High School, Harvard College

(16) 2020 Interview with Chelsea Baker, River Hill High School, Harvard College

Ms. Chelsea Baker graduated from River Hill High School. She will join Harvard College this fall. She has not made her mind on her major.

Chelsea shared why she has not decided her major yet because she wants to explore more possibilities in college. Chelsea talked about her school experience. She was the team captain of her school varsity soccer team and the team won three consecutive championships before.

She talked about overcoming the difficulty in her AP chemistry class, then learned a lot from that experience. She also talked about her learning at an academic camp ( her term nerd camp) in Naval Academy.

She shared her experience on how to overcome cyberbullying in her middle school.

There are more to learn. Please tune in.

(15) 2020 Interview with Rachel Lin, Howard High School(2016), UC Berkeley

(15) 2020 Interview with Rachel Lin, Howard High School(2016), UC Berkeley

Ms. Rachel Lin graduated from Howard High School in 2016 and graduated for UC Berkeley this year. Her college major was Cognitive Science and Legal Study. She was a student board member (SMOB) of Howard County Board of Education in 2015-2016.

Now she started her own business with college friends while preparing for LSAT exam. Her Study Hall College Consulting is now live! The website link is: http://www.shcollegeconsulting.com. Here is her youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWiV… She shared both her wonderful high school experience and her unforgettable college life.

Please tune in.

(14) 2020 Interview with Alex Eapen, Long Reach High School, University of Pennsylvania

(14) 2020 Interview with Alex Eapen, Long Reach High School, University of Pennsylvania

Mr. Alex Eapen graduated from Long Reach High School in 2020 and will join University of Pennsylvania, majoring neuroscience.

He shared how to balance school life, how to find his interest and passion until his junior year. He also shared how to find true-self in order to fit himself in different roles. There are much more he shared ranging from college application, leadership position in student government and clubs, G&T intern, clubs, etc.

Please tune in.

(13) 2020 Interview with Lorelei Loraine, Mt. Hebron High School, Columbia University

(13) 2020 Interview with Lorelei Loraine, Mt. Hebron High School, Columbia University

Ms. Lorelei Loraine graduated from Mt. Hebron High School in 2020. She will join Columbia University, majoring Economics and Mathematics.

She was on the Mt. Hebron’s Economics Challenge team, led by Mr. Vann Prime. The team won numerous awards on state and national levels, and worldwide. Here is HCPSS news update: https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/202…

She shared her feelings when she received her first college rejection letter. However, she learned lessons and moved on to the next round.

There are much more to learn. Please tune in.

(12) 2020 Interview with Bill Tong, Atholton High School

(12) 2020 Interview with Bill Tong, Atholton High School

Bill Tong graduated from Atholton High School in 2020. He will join Cornell University and majoring Finance.

Bill talked about his experience, starting from convincing his Middle School friends to continue his passion on the environment and education with Bioma Project, which was reported in the Baltimore Sun: https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland…. Quoted: The group, now in high school, started putting aquariums in elementary and middle school classrooms the following year — along with sharing their 40-page curriculum — to inspire younger students to become the future caretakers of the natural world. The teens have worked with 900 students at 29 schools, 20 of which have already indicated they will continue with the project, in which aquariums stand in for local stream ecosystems.

Bill shared his formula on how to evaluate opportunities whether he should take it or not, which helped him to navigate and success in high school. There are more for you to tune in.

(11) 2020 Interview with Cooper Stepke, Marriotts Ridge High School(2019)

(11) 2020 Interview with Cooper Stepke, Marriotts Ridge High School(2019)

Today we are going to interview Mr. Cooper Stepke. He graduated from Marriotts Ridge High School in 2019. He is attending Cornell University and majoring Industrial and Labor Relations.

Cooper shared his experience balancing among standardized tests, sports, academics and college applications. He also shared how to plan out his courses in the high school to make high school life easier. Sports and clubs helped him to learn people skills and team spirit.

There are more for you to tune in.

(10) 2020 Interview with Jessica Bu, River Hill High School

(10) 2020 Interview with Jessica Bu, River Hill High School

We are crossing another milestone. The interview comes to the tenth episode. We are interviewing Ms. Jessica Bu. She graduated from River Hill High School in 2019, and is studying at New York University, majoring Economics and minoring Film Production. She shared the difficult time when she lost a friend in her senior year and changed her mindset about the world. She also talked about the difficult time while transferring from another school system into HCPSS. Music and choir played a big role in her high school life. There are many more for you to tune in: cross-country sport, FBLA, student government position, accelerated growth, inclusion, diversity, racism, etc. There is one sentence from Jessica which really reckons with me: life is not linear. We are not able to pre-design our own life trajectory and just follow it. Instead, we put out our heart and effort, and move forward with dedication.

(9) 2020 Interview with Adya Joshi, Howard High School

(9) 2020 Interview with Adya Joshi, Howard High School

In this episode, we are interviewing Ms. Adya Joshi. She graduated from Howard High School, and will join University of Maryland, College Park, majoring computer science. She shared her research experience on cryptography, published a paper and presented her result in a conference where she was the only high school students! Her intern and research experience helped her to college application and major selection. There are more to cover. Please tune in.

(8) 2020 Interview with Erik Jacob, Marriotts Ridge High School

(8) 2020 Interview with Erik Jacob, Marriotts Ridge High School

In this episode, we are interviewing Mr. Erik Jacob. He graduated Marriotts Ridge High School in 2020. He will join Howard Community College, majoring game and simulation design. Erik shared his most difficult moment when he lost his grandfather in his senior year. Erik also shared his fight with the school system to receive support for special education (autism spectrum disorder). Eventually he received the support and thrived. He fitted in clubs and became the president of his school’s gaming club. Erik demoed his 3D printers live (multiple) and used those printers to help Covid-19 relief effort.Erick talked about his long love with computer game, video games since age of four. This will impact his love for gaming, even his selection of college major. Please tune in for more.

(7) 2020 Interview with Jeff Du, River Hill High School

(7) 2020 Interview with Jeff Du, River Hill High School

Today we are going to interview Mr. Jeff Du, who graduated from River Hill High School and will join Duke University, double majoring economics and statistics. He talked about how to balance high school life. He emphasized the importance of mental health for our young people. He also has some secrets to keep your high school life more effective, meaningful and less stressful. Please tune in.