Roshni Aneja is a senior at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. She is an outgoing individual and hopes to pursue a career in politics. Aneja is constantly involved in social events at JFK. In the interview, she talks about her future plans as well as her high school experience. 

How would you rate your experience at JFK?

Roshni: I would say it was pretty good; I feel like I joined a lot of clubs and sports my freshmen year, so I was able to make a lot of friends. The teachers are nice, and they always help with anything you need; they go the extra mile to ensure that you’re doing well in class. They are also very accepting, especially Ms. McKeever, and they understand if you have other things going on in your life, which makes it easier to be involved in extracurricular activities.

That leads to my next question you are very involved; you play tennis and are a member of various clubs. What has being in these clubs and organizations taught you?

It’s definitely taught me time management, especially because tennis and band were in the same season. I would be at school from 6:30 a.m.- 9 p.m. Then I would have homework and other things to do. I had to balance homework and school activities as well, as you know, my extra activities that aren’t affiliated with JFK. It also taught me the importance of discipline, commitment, and community. It is nice to have other people go through the same things as you and to be able to rely on them for support. Even if I’ve had long practices or meetings or a bunch of homework to do, I’ve always had a group of people that supported me through it.

What are your plans after high school?

After high school, I obviously planned to go to Upenn, and I’m going to major in political science and computer science, hopefully. I would like to work in the data side of government, specifically at the NSA [National Security Agency]. I’d like to invoke a reform to the way our like federal agencies are designed. I feel like they’re very outdated, and that’s why technology’s so important in government today; that’s a space where they’re lacking technological support. People interested in technology don’t go into government because they find higher pay and private companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon. Federal agencies are obviously meant to help people, but with the way they’re designed, there are so many delays with the whole process. Whether it’s like getting your passport, getting your Visa, or anything,  I think technology can be utilized to kind of break that gap and make it easier for people to immigrate here or even just if they need….any type of governmental assistance they’ll be able to receive that help.

You recently got accepted into your dream school Upenn; how did feel opening your acceptance letter?

I wasn’t as happy as I thought it would be, but I was still pretty excited. It still doesn’t feel real and probably won’t until I start going there. I ED there [Early Decision], but I think at the end of the day, if you do get in through ed, there’s not much of a choice you have left there to whether to go to that school or not. I’m still very excited to go there next year; it does feel like somewhat of a relief because I don’t, I didn’t have to work in college apps anymore.

What is your proudest achievement in your high school career?

My proudest achievement was interning at congressman Pallone’s office because I was able to interact with people and help assist them with their issues with federal agencies. That was something that really pertained to what I want to do with my career. So it was a first glimpse of what a career in the federal government or just politics, in general, looked like. I got to help people on a regular day-to-day basis, and that was very fulfilling I was also able to learn about the government in a way that school doesn’t teach.

Your brother attended JFK. What did you take away from his experience in high school, and which of his regrets (if any) did you learn from? 

 I think some of his biggest regrets were not joining as many clubs…. I definitely learned that I should become involved. ….He left with the regret that he could have done more in high school that really would’ve helped him out in college. For example, maybe take harder classes or just join clubs that he would’ve had fun in. He is really into robotics and computer science, but he never joined robotics, so I joined robotics. Since he was a senior when I was a freshman, I got to interact with his friends, which was fun. I just felt like it helped me become more social throughout high school.

What was it like being on the homecoming court? How was your experience?

Okay. I’ll be real. I would say it was okay. There were some toxic things about the entire process, but I did enjoy it. The group of girls on the court were super close, we would always help each other out, and we didn’t care who won. We said we would be happy for whoever won. I do think the whole nomination process and voting for everyone was a bit toxic. People talked badly about other people. It kind of turned into like a popularity contest when it just should be, picking someone you think represents the school well. People would also put other people down in order to like, uplift whoever they support. It’s just something that’s supposed to be fun for the girls involved and school in general. Overall, the entire process with the girls was really fun. We also had fun at the Christmas parade that we attended.

How is being highly ranked? A lot of people, including myself, look to you when they have questions, whether it’s about the college process or school work; because of this, do you feel pressure to be perfect?

No, I don’t think I feel a lot of external pressure, especially not from my family or anything. I know that a lot of people who come from my background and are Asian definitely feel that intrinsic pressure. But I feel like; for me, it’s always been more of like intrinsic motivation. So I don’t really care about the numbers per se; it’s just more of a thing like, do I understand the concepts I am learning in class? Am I doing well in class? It’s more like the pressure I put on myself to do well since I feel like I’ve set a high standard for myself, and I want to live up to it. But I do think that rank can also be toxic sometimes because you also don’t want to see your rank fall ’cause that can be discouraging. Once you do get higher in rank, you don’t want it to fall. So it is like sometimes you get scared. Even if you get an A in a class, you still question it, and think what if I needed an A plus?