1) What has been your biggest disappointment/hardship since schools have been closed for the remainder of the academic year?

My biggest disappointment has been not being able to spend more time with friends and faculties. Throughout the year, we were struggling with an abundance of work, taking care of schoolwork while dealing with colleges, so we never got to connect and spend time as we wanted with peers and faculty. The last few months of senior year was to be our chance to spend time and learn from each other before everyone parted ways. Now it feels like everything got disconnected before anyone was ready to part ways.

2) What are your plans for the fall?

I plan to attend Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where I will be studying cybersecurity engineering at the Polytechnic Institute.

3) How have your plans changed, if at all?

Not being able to visit colleges has made it difficult to come to a decision. Also with the pandemic and economic downturn, my mother has lost her job, and my father has reduced work hours. This makes the future look not as bright, as concerns for paying for my education arise.

4) What have you learned about yourself since the COVID-19 closures?

I have learned that I should be more grateful for everything and everyone. I should cherish my friends, respect faculty and elders, and make the most of my time, because you never know what's around the corner. A pandemic like this can come and take all of that away from you in a heartbeat.

5) What is your passion?

My passion is to support and contribute to the community. Ever since I came to the U.S. nearly six years ago, I made it my mission to give back and repay the favor of having had the opportunity to immigrate in the first place. My passion is to learn and absorb knowledge, so that I can start repaying small in my community and rise all the way to repaying the nation as a whole.

6) Have you discovered a new passion in light of social distancing?

I have discovered that I can busy myself with many small side projects that I always had the dream of undertaking but never had the time. I see the joy of working with small details and how life can become simple and you can still enjoy it.

7) What are your hopes for the future?

I hope that as many people as possible survive the pandemic and are not hurt any more by it. I hope that from now on people become more grateful and cherish what they have. That they stop being greedy and help each other every step of the way. That they have the same brave hearts as those working in the health fields to sustain us.

8) What are you most proud of about your school experience/best memory?

High school taught me that to best learn and enjoy life, I have to be a part of all the communities at my school. I made great memories that way, each one better than the last. I am sad that I cannot make any more memories, but I don't look at that side of the glass. I look at the side that is full and am grateful that I could at least do what I did.