Gurleen is a senior at JFK Memorial High School, and is one of the most hard working, energetic, ambitious people you will ever meet. She has been on top of her studies and is a member of FBLA, DEI, Kennedy WeVolve, biotech club, badminton, Key club and is also part of student council. Gurleen was able to accomplish all of this in the span of 2 years, as she came from India in her junior year. Additionally, she is the social media manager for the Indic Ally Alliance Group. Her plan after graduation is to attend Middlesex College and transfer to Rutgers.
If you had to use 3 words to describe yourself, what would they be?
Gurleen: I think it would be consistent, strong and religious.
What advice would you give to the freshmen coming up?
Take academics very seriously, like the first 3 years, just focus on your academics. It [having your most important classes done] will be good for senior year, you can just go home, take senior block, it won’t matter.
Which year are you the most proud of in high school and why?
Junior year, because I moved from India. I moved halfway through the year, it was the second half of the junior year so it was kinda scary, a whole new place, a whole new dynamic of things. Junior year is considered to be the hardest year due to the SAT, college prep, everything.
Which teacher would you miss the most ?
Ms. Ramos, Mr. Farrell and Mr. Wilson, they have been supporting me since day one. If anything happens, I go to them.
What’s your favorite subject and why?
I think my favorite subject would be gym… because…I really do not wanna do anything, I just want to do gym every single day.
How does it feel to graduate high school in a few days?
Very relaxing actually, I just want to get this over with.
What college are you planning on attending?
I’m attending Middlesex for two years and then I’m going to go to Rutgers.
Are you planning on dorming?
Nope, not at all. Saving money.
What subject will you be majoring in?
I’m majoring in Business.
Is there anything you regret not doing in high school?
I feel as if in junior year, [I was] not concentrating or focusing on myself, because all junior year was academics, and I gave everything to academics, so I did not give time to myself. And now, in senior year, I feel like I am dead, I am just so burned out, and just want to get everything over with. The second thing is I overstreseds myself in senior year as well. I could have taken senior block and gone home, but I still choose college prep classes.
What is stressing you most about college at the moment?
Classes. Because while you are picking your classes, you do not know what will happen in the class until you actually experience it. And later on, if you find that “oh, I don’t wanna take this class, I wanna drop it”, it makes a big mess. Even in senior year [of high school], I dropped one of my classes and I took another class, and now I am regretting taking that class. I wanna take the other class again so it is kind of a big mess.
Is there anything you will really miss about high school?
My friends! All of my friends are going different ways.
