Varsha Ranjan, is one of the 2024 graduating seniors at John F. Kennedy High School and has committed to Fairleigh Dickinson University, which she will begin attending this fall. She was the colorguard captain and also served as captain for both the cross country and track team. She is a member of Dance Exchange, Model UN, National Honor Society, Student Council, Heroes and Cool Kids, Film Club, Kennedy Cancer Society and Diversity Equity Inclusion Committee. Varsha has done so much for JFK, and we know that she will do great things at FDU.
Why did you choose to go to Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) out of the other colleges that accepted your application?
Varsha: I mainly applied to out of state colleges and, FDU, Rider, Rowan were the only colleges that I applied to in state. I looked at the funding, New Haven [college] in Connecticut, they gave me $30 thousand but it is $70 thousand minus $30 thousand, which means that I would be $40 thousand in debt. FDU is a better option, as it is in state, and I would have preferred to go out of state if it was pre-med. But since I’m not going to pre-med, it is better to stay in state.
Do you have a reason for wanting to major in psychology?
I took AP Psychology here with Ms.Hugelmeyer and she really made me enjoy the class, and I had a lot of fun in the class, with a lot of interactions and I learned a lot. Even when I was studying for the AP test, within a day I learned a lot.
Do you plan on doing track or cross country in college?
Yes, I talked to Coach Louie at FDU and he said that he has an open spot for me, so I will be running D3 track and field and cross country.
How does it feel to have received the MVP award in cross country for 3 years in a row?
It was pretty good, but I think my second and third year Ms.Henderson really pushed me into working my best, and my senior year, Mr. Josko was definitely helping me out. My freshman year I got MIP [most improved player].
How would you describe your last year at JFK, and what is a memory that you will miss the most?
My last year at JFK, it is really interesting, it has been a rollercoaster ride. My favorite memory that I am going to miss the most is walking into teacher’s classrooms that I know and am really close with. I just walk in and say “what’s up?” and have a whole conversation with them, or seeing my underclassmen and teasing them.
Was there ever a class or teacher here at JFK that has influenced you? If so, was it in a good or bad way toward your life in the last four years?
A lot of teachers, Senora Difuri, Mr. Farrell, Ms. Bost, Mr. Henderson, Ms. Henderson, Mr. Josko and Ms. Della Serra. They have influenced me in a very good way, they all know me and Ms. Heeney, she is amazing. I don’t know what I would do without any of them.
Since you are the captain for colorguard, cross country and track, which coach has the most influence on you and what is one thing that you learned from them that you will always remember?
The coaches that have definitely influenced me are Ms. Henderson and Ms. Bost. Ms. Henderson would always run with us, and I’ve known her since seventh grade because she was our gym teacher, and she would go to JFK, run cross country, and come back to school the next day, and be amazing and I was like, “wow, I want to be her” and I kept her as my inspiration. She is the reason that I did cross country and here I am now. Ms. Bost, she is amazing, she always knows when to play around, have fun and when to be serious…
To the incoming freshmen, what are your tips for them for high school?
Explore. Make new friends. It is all about meeting new people, and just because you came to high school with the same friend group does not mean you have to stay with them. You can always meet new people, make a whole new friend group, and I’ve been with different friend groups. Freshman and sophomore year I had my same friend group, then junior and senior year I was with two different friend groups and here I am now, it just happens. You explore. There are so many clubs and sports and opportunities in JFK, and just because you think you won’t be good at something, do it. I did it [ran] because I thought I was going to suck at cross country, and now I have MVP [most valuable player]. I thought I was not going to be color guard captain, the only reason I did color guard is because my brother did color guard and he was captain when he was here at JFK. So I joined color guard and became captain.
