Amina Khan is an exceptional senior from JFK’s class of 2023. It is difficult to miss her beautifully amicable personality. Amina enjoys music, reading and spending time with her loved ones. She can often be found socializing and interacting with new people, whether it be at work or at school. Her bright smile and warm personality are just a few indicators of her inclusive nature.

I feel very privileged to be able to call her a good friend of mine and to have the opportunity to learn more about her through an interview on behalf of The Torch. Here’s how it went:

What is your favorite subject or topic to learn about and why? How long have you been interested in it?

My favorite subject is math. I’ve been interested in it for 17 years -wow, I’m 18. It’s because I’m really, really good at math. It’s the only subject that really makes sense to me, like everything correlates perfectly with each other.

What are your favorite extracurricular activities?

I like to paint, draw. Sometimes, I write, otherwise, I usually am reading most of the time.

What’s your favorite part about high school? Least favorite? 

My favorite would be the connections I’ve made [with people]. My least favorite would be the fact that I hate science. So, when I have to take science classes, it’s not exactly fun for me. I suck at science in general, so no thanks. But yeah that’s it.

What is your plan so far, for after high school? Do you know what career path you might take/what majors you’d be into?

I’m not exactly sure what career path I want to take, it’s been changing a lot. But, I know that I want to major in business, and hopefully expand my mother’s own small business into a major brand.

I believe you were in your freshman year when the pandemic hit and everything shut down. How was the transition? Were you upset? Relieved of first year stress?

I had no stress as a freshman. I found it to be my chill year, along with sophomore year. So, when the pandemic hit, and obviously like any of us, I was happy that I didn’t have to go to school. But after I came back, I realized that those two years were my chill years, I didn’t have to do much, so kinda having that being taken away from me was really hard. But, I still managed to get to where I am today, so I’m glad about that.

You’ve been going to work on the weekends for a little while now. Do you enjoy spending your time there? If so, why?

I actually do enjoy spending my time there. ‘Cause the coworkers, the people who I work with, are very pleasant, wonderful people. They’re a lot of fun to hang around with and the environment there is very friendly. It’s very wonderful watching kids, y’know, have fun and everything. All in all, it’s really fun over there. I work at Kidz Empire, [at] Woodbridge. I work as a Party Host Leader so I basically take care of people’s parties.

Speaking of jobs, you’ve been busy with work and all the college prep. What are some things you like to do to de-stress? 

Recently, I went on a vacation, and that was the most relaxed I’ve ever felt in my entire life. It was really just getting away from the responsibility and just surrounding yourself with family. I don’t have much family over here, I have more family over there [in Pakistan], so I went over there for a little de-stressing.

This last year, we’ve talked a lot about having a Karaoke hangout, and I remember us trying to choose songs to put into our ideal list if we could have one. What would you say is your go-to karaoke song?

My go-to karaoke song right now would be “Perfect Harmony” from Julie & the Phantoms. I’m absolutely in love with that- it’s such a good song! I know we have tried to sing to that, and it was so much fun when we did it last time, so I thought it would be best if we try doing it in karaoke. 

And it’s embarrassing because it’s a kids show but it is such a good song! Now moving on, if you had a chance to spend a day with one celebrity, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

I would spend my day with either Zendaya or Tom Holland because I am deeply in love with both of them. The way they carry themselves and their lives really resonates with me, it really encourages me to keep moving forward and be the best I can be.

Who are your biggest role models?/What are your motivations?

I don’t actually think I have many. I think maybe…Zendaya…is my biggest role model. She’s my idol. And my motivation would be to be able to provide my parents with as much comfort as they provided me my entire life. I wanna be able to provide them with that kind of comfort for the rest of their lives.

One of the things I admire about you is that you take pride in being Pakistani, specifically Islamabad. How would you say your connection to your family’s background and culture play a role in your life and your character? 

Well, I love being Pakistani- I love being from Islamabad because of the people who live in Islamabad, people who live in Pakistan. My family members are -Masha’Allah (phrase of gratitude in Islam)- very capable and wonderful human beings to be around. I feel like the people you surround yourself with automatically create an impactful thing on your personality. So,  just having that family background, being around those people impacted me in a way where I felt pride. Whenever somebody talks about them in a positive way or whenever I see them, I feel a lot of pride. 

That’s very beautiful. And I know earlier this week, you’ve just returned from Pakistan? How did it feel to go back? What about the trip, or Pakistan in general, would you say is most memorable to you?

So it’s been around 9 years [since the last trip]. Coming back [to Pakistan] honestly, it felt like a dream. Just being there, being in that place, being with all those people, it felt like a dream. It was the most wonderful time I’ve ever had in my life, and I wanna go back to it. So, yeah, I’m just raising money to get back there. I think the most memorable thing was the connection I was able to make in such a short time with my new aunt. She’s a very reserved person, and her husband as well is very introverted. So, the fact that they were able to open up to me and get comfortable with me in such a short amount of time is very astounding to me and I really am very grateful for that opportunity. I love hanging out with them so much.

On behalf of The Torch, we thank Amina for her time and wish her the best as she moves on to this new chapter in her life.