SPB's First Graduating Class
By Palaksi Pagare and Sahngyu Yim
The first graduating class of Stratford Preparatory Blackford is ready to explore the bigger "sea," as they are all excited to dive deeper into their fields of interest in their post-high school academic journeys. We hope that their exploration and discovery into their new chapter goes well and that they jump to even greater heights.
Samantha, the president of Student Council (ASB), will be going to Georgia Tech to attend their combined BS/MS Computer Science program. She advises everyone to “balance” schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and friends and family, as well as putting “yourself out there,” whether it is making new friends or participating in conferences. She also suggests to not procrastinate. Some of her favorite activities are hanging out with her friends and making memories or going to new food spots with her mom, baking brownies, reading about different genres from quantum physics to romance books, and more!
Kareem, the vice president of Student Council, is excited to go to Indiana University to participate in their accelerated B/MD program. He also suggests to “focus on quality over quantity with your extracurriculars,” as it would be better to go more in depth in fewer activities rather than have more activities with less time spent on each. He also recommends taking on leadership roles or doing big projects to show interest in the areas you want to pursue. His favorite board game is Risk due to the strategy and decision making required, and his favorite video game Hearts of Iron, both of which involve calculated thinking.
Helen, a senior that will be attending UC San Diego, will be majoring in physics in the hopes of pursuing a career in medical physics. Her advice is “to stay true to yourself, whether that be academically, socially, or emotionally. At this age, it can be easy to be swayed by the beliefs and actions of others, but you have to remember that the decisions you make today define your tomorrow, and lasting success never comes from shortcuts.” She also loves pandas!
Jody Liu, a member of Student Council, will be attending UC San Diego and studying business psychology as she wants to have a better understanding about how business and marketing campaigns work. She advises her underclassmen to manage their time and maintain a healthy sleep schedule as it’s very crucial. Jody is a night owl as she loves going to sleep late and sleeping in until it is really late, balancing it out.
Tanvi Nene will be majoring in Human Biology and Society B.S. at UCLA as she wants to become a healthcare professional and help society. A piece of advice she provides is to "prioritize your academics above everything.” This is “because colleges do really care about the grades.” A fun fact about Tanvi is that her favorite art medium is acrylic painting.
Ryan Tabbara will be attending SJSU while majoring in material engineering as it allows his interests of engineering and chemistry to be combined into one. He advises everyone to “work hard,” but also to have fun and “don’t push yourself too hard and don’t be afraid to ask for help!” His favorite song genres are indie rock or alternative R&B.
