Failed Engineer, but Hopeful Self-Starter
/My time in high school
Favorite subjects
English, History / Social Studies, Performing Arts
Struggled with...
Math and computer science. I'm not a math-minded person, which is fine, but it puts you at a disadvantage at Palo Alto schools, as they place a greater emphasis on the importance of technical and STEM education.
Favorite extracurricular
Music
Attended high school in the
2010s
Overall high school experience
5/10. I was involved, I had friends, and I had good relationships with some of the faculty members. I still felt belittled and undermined a lot, whether by direct actions by my peers and teachers or from implicit standards that I felt I was not meeting.
Grades in high school
]A's and B's
Life since high school
“I’ve been at the same job for about 8 months now, which is unusual for someone my age, and I’m proud of it. I learned that if you take initiative and work hard, you’ll achieve a lot more than you originally set out. ”
Attended college / university at
I'm currently a sophomore at UC Santa Barbara, pursuing a double major in Psychology and Communication with a certification in Technology Management.
Places lived in US
California
Current occupations / past occupations
I am currently a business development and sales intern for BeMyApp, a developer relations agency based in San Francisco.
Industries I've worked in
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (e.g. Law, Accounting, Interior Design, Graphic Design, R&D, PR, Advertising, etc.)
- Retail Trade
Did your education prepare you for your career or occupation?
Most of my high school education has nothing to do with what I'm doing now. My combination of majors and my certification, however, are highly applicable to my job and the industry I hope to work in in the future.
Has your education or career/occupation trajectory ever changed? How?
I wouldn't say that my career goals have changed, but my outlook and understanding of the industry I want to go into has vastly improved.
A little introspection...
To me, being successful means...
Accomplishing the goals I set out for myself. These change over time, but they more or less always point to building a career in an industry I am interested in and enjoy (so that working won't feel like "work"), having emotionally satisfying and rewarding relationships, and consistently working to improve my life as well as the lives of those around me.
My definition of success has changed over time.
I used to believe success was numbers-based (grades, scores, salaries, etc). Numbers don't tell a story, though.
My greatest accomplishment to date and what I’ve learned from it
Getting the job I have now is probably what I'm most proud of. After interning at BeMyApp for the summer after my freshman year of high school, my boss requested that I stay on as a remote employee. I've been at the same job for about 8 months now, which is unusual for someone my age, and I'm proud of it. I learned that if you take initiative and work hard, you'll achieve a lot more than you originally set out.
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My favorite spot in or around Palo Alto
Kite Hill
