Harsh Borkhetaria is currently an 18-year-old senior at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. Harsh has won the Senior of the Month Award and he was a part of the JFK basketball team. He has substantial goals and is looking forward to his future.

I remember you saying that you wanted to get into the University of Chicago and NYU; have you got a scholarship offer from either of them yet?

Harsh: I have not gotten a scholarship offer from either of those schools, but I am currently waitlisted at the University of Chicago. For my college decision, I have chosen Rutgers so far, but at any time between the Rutgers semester starts and I get accepted into the University of Chicago, I do plan to go there. NYU, I got a rejection, so that is not on my list anymore.

If you do go to Rutgers or the University of Chicago, what would you major in?

If I went to the University of Chicago, I would major in economics because that is what they are known for, and if I go to Rutgers, I plan to major in computer science and a minor in economics.

What was the most challenging task you faced as a senior?

As a senior, my most challenging task was probably my attendance. Mostly because I know throughout the year there is certain goals I have to reach, and after those goals are finished, I didn’t have much motivation to come to school, so my attendance is not that great.

If you can go back to one grade in high school, what would it be?

If I can go back to one grade in high school, it would probably be my junior year. On paper, junior year was not my best year in terms of grades. Even though my grades out of the four years, it was my worst year, I learned the most about what I wanted to do in my future and I also learned about what type of person of was, and how my work ethic could be changed. That shaped me into who I really am right now.

What teacher at JFK had the biggest impact on you?

This is pretty difficult considering I’ve had a lot of teachers at JFK, but if I had to choose one teacher, it would be Mrs. Mckeever. I had her for G&T [Gifted & Talented] for three years and I had her this year for supa writing. She’s not just a teacher to me, I look at her as some sort of a mentor as well, and she has taught me a lot outside of the classroom as well. She has also taught me about the English language itself and language arts in general.

What impact did the global Covid-19 pandemic have on your high school experience?

I can’t lie and say that it wasn’t nice because it was. It obviously had some pros and cons. I got to stay home and classes were much easier, and I got to use a lot more resources that our teachers gave us on assignments. It was mostly a chill year, but it also taught me going into a workspace such as school, as well as going into a workspace, and not just working from home because it puts you into that mindset that you’re actually working and not just relaxing at home.

What will you miss most about JFK?

The one thing I will miss most about JFK is basketball because after this year, I won’t be playing organized basketball anymore. Even though I had a couple of division two interests from colleges in different states, I don’t think its viable to have an academic and athletic career.

If a song could represent your senior year, what would that song be and why?

A song is tough off the top of my head, but an artist would be my favorite artist, which is Drake. Mostly because Drake is a versatile artist, he is so good in many different aspects and he works on himself in many different ways. That represents my senior year because there are so many different ways I was able to improve myself in and show what I was already good at.

Is there anything you are going to change when you go to college?

Yes, my circle of friends mostly because even though I love my friends right now, I’ve learned that to be successful I need to surround myself with people who think like me and have similar goals as me. Not that my friends now don’t, obviously, they have things they want to succeed in and they have their own personal goals and I have my own personal goals.