Q. In what grade are you currently enrolled?

A. I’m currently a senior at Emmaus High School, but I am doing my classes at Lehigh Carbon Community College and Lehigh University.

Q. Please provide the first names of your family members: parents, siblings and pets.

A. My mom’s name is Ushes while my dad’s name is Jecko. I’ve got two younger brothers: the oldest of the two is Aidan while the younger one is Nathan. I’ve also got a pet parrot (a green cheek conure) named Loki.

Q. What is your favorite subject? Why?

A. My favorite subject would be English because I like how versatile the subject is and how many different ways you can convey the same message. I also enjoy writing in general, so English seems like a natural fit for me.

Q. Have you received any special awards or recognition?

A. I was inducted into National Honor Society and have been on the Principal’s Honor Roll every quarter. I am also a part of the Lehigh Scholars Program this year and will be taking a class at Lehigh University.

Q. Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? How has COVID-19 impacted these activities?

A. I’m currently involved with the Steel Hornets (Emmaus’s own robotics team), the Stinger (the school’s newspaper) and a part of the astronomy club. I do know that for robotics, only a limited number of people were able to come in and work at a time. As for astronomy club and the Stinger, most of the work was done on either Zoom meetings or on individual Google Docs. While it wasn’t the most optimal, I think that we were able to work successfully virtually despite a whole pandemic going on around us.

Q. What do you consider your biggest challenge to date?

A. I think my biggest challenge to date was when I first faced my English class with Mr. Pirro, who was known for being one of the stricter teachers at the high school. I performed very poorly during the second quarter of the class. However, after improving my communication and getting help from him, I was able to successfully pass the class with flying colors and learned several valuable lessons from him.

Q. What is your next goal after high school?

A. My next goal after high school would be to attend a college, pursuing a degree in business, specifically in marketing. Though I haven’t settled on just one college yet, I’ve made up my mind on which colleges I do want to send applications to once fall rolls around.

Q. Whom do you admire? Why?

A. I admire my parents since they were the ones who brought me up and shaped who I am today. They were responsible for pushing me when I wasn’t and their drive as first generation immigrants was definitely implemented in me when I was growing up, which I will forever be grateful for.

Q. For what would you like to be remembered?

A. I would like to be known as someone that anyone could go to for help or simply just someone to talk to, since everyone needs to find someone to confide in, even if it’s just something simply like being stressed out for a test.

Q. Do you have any advice for your peers?

A. The advice that I’d like to offer is this: don’t feel pressured to figure out what degree or what college you want to attend. It’s completely fine to be unsure what you want to do in life, even as a senior. Make the most of your time at Emmaus and do everything that you want to do and can. You’d be surprised how much Emmaus offers to every student. I would like to thank the counselors at Emmaus, especially Mr. Wood who helped me figure out my senior year and found opportunities for me which I wouldn’t have found otherwise.