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Seniors contemplate life beyond high
school
Astrophysics.
International relations. Chemical engineering. Language. Pre-med.
Five members of the
Albany High School Class of 2010 will pursue studies in these subject
areas when they head to college this fall. Their destinations: Princeton
University, the University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Siena College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The students – among
the 90 percent of Albany High’s Class of 2010 that will attend college
in September – recently shared their thought about their education and
the future (Click here for a list of colleges that accepted this
year’s graduates).
Immanuel Washington
looks forward to being able to choose his classes at Penn, the Ivy
League school where he’ll study the universe and how it works. His eyes
on the stars, he hopes to be an astrophysicist one day.
Rachel Dias Carlson
isn’t sure what career she wants to pursue, but she plans to major in
chemical engineering at MIT.
Owen Daniels plans a
profession in diplomacy (“if being a secret agent doesn’t work out,” he
said). He’ll study international relations at Princeton, also in the Ivy
League.
Keva Luke and Clinton
Mathai both have their sights set on becoming physicians and will pursue
pre-med studies.
Luke also will study
Spanish at Siena, and Mathai has been accepted into the accelerated
seven-year physician-scientist program jointly run by RPI and Albany
Medical College. He is the first Albany High graduate ever accepted into
this prestigious program.
The grads look forward
to starting the next phase of their lives, but admit there are things
they’ll miss about Albany High.
One-on-one attention
from teachers. Interacting with a wide variety of people. Not the
cafeteria. The doors opened by programs and classes they took. The
Gatorade machine. Sports, music and other activities.
Mostly, they’ll miss
the people – friends and teachers who made a difference in their lives.
That list includes math teacher Varada Pandya-Vaughan, physics teacher
John Sawyer, social studies teacher Paul Contento, chemistry teacher
Rita Gava and more.
The grads agreed their
Albany High education has prepared them well for the challenges of
college, and they’re eager to move on to what lies ahead.
“New friends, thrilling
teachers, dorm life – I look forward to the whole experience,” Luke
said.
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