Anusha Patel is a senior at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. She moved from Virginia to Iselin in second grade. While navigating through a new town, she has grown fond of the environment created at JFK. The welcoming community, diversity and academic challenge are aspects that Anusha greatly appreciates. As she reminisces about her time at JFK, Anusha concludes the impact her school experience has made on her ambitious character and goals. Recently, she committed to NJIT and is excited about her future. Graduation is something she has been looking forward to; however, she finds it bittersweet as she won’t see her peers often, going forth. As the 2024 school year comes to an end, Anusha strives to make lifelong memories with friends during her time left at JFK.
What are three things you are striving to improve on?
Anusha: Independence, confidence and being versatile.
What was your favorite year of high school and why?
My sophomore year because I met my best friends. That year, I met two of my closest people and I have been friends with them ever since. That shows you don’t know who you’re gonna meet and how important they’re gonna be in your life.
How have your interests changed over time in high school?
Now, I just want to learn about everything, more than before, where I had more specifics to certain things I liked. I always liked sports, but now I’m more open to trying new activities such as tennis, running, boxing, etc. Careerwise, I always thought I was gonna be an engineer, but that changed into technology. I’m really glad that I chose technology over engineering because I realized that the only reason I liked engineering was because of math. I realized that I didn’t wanna do that for the rest of my life. I learned more about different industries and what professions do in the tech world. I realized what skill sets I would need in the tech industry, so it’s easier for me to do that compared to engineering.
What teacher or class had the most impact on you?
Macro because it was a chill class, and I also met my best friend there while learning how to self-study and be independent in sophomore year. I liked the teacher [Mr. Graham] because he was interested in caring towards us and wanting to learn about what we were doing. Definitely an active class.
What is your proudest accomplishment from your years at JFK?
My proudest accomplishment is being more aware of who I am; knowing what my strengths and weaknesses are, and being able to become a better person through those weaknesses and strengths. I’ve been learning how I work and how people around me work, so I know the best way to communicate and deal with certain situations. Also, I was able to get the most improvement in girl’s soccer, which was a very big deal for me because I had to work really hard. I asked a lot of questions and did a lot of drills outside of practice before the season even started. I spent a lot of summer hours doing it. I realized how much time and effort I put, which goes back to self-realization where I realized that if I wanna do something, I will do it and I will work hard towards it if I believe that it’s gonna get me somewhere.
What do you prioritize the most in your life right now?
I prioritize spending time with my friends and family the most. After college, I’m not gonna get as much time, so any time I spend with them, specifically in nature, is the best time I have with them. My favorite things are going to parks, walking around, just talking and joking with them. Spending time with them makes me more appreciative of my life and the people that are in my life because I realize that some people don’t have the relationships that I have, so that just makes me more grateful and appreciative of what life has to offer.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years, I hope to be a supervisor or manager of a tech firm specifically in IT or anything cyber security related. I definitely wanna lead a few projects to learn about the corporate world a little better… I did a summer program at a tech company and it was one of the best experiences because I met people from all around the world, and it showed me how committed other people were toward their goals. That made me more committed to knowing what I wanna do….
What do you look forward to in the future? What gets you excited?
Just being able to be myself, be independent, doing things that I like to do without feeling any sort of negative emotion, and just the thought of spending time with others gets me excited about the future. When you’re in middle school, elementary school and eventually in high school, you don’t get to do as many things as you would once you graduate and get into college. Because when you’re 18, you’ve opened up a whole new door of possibilities where you’re able to do new things that you’ve never done, which I’m excited for.
What advice would you give to your past freshman self?
I would tell my freshman self to do whatever I love, especially joining clubs and programs. One of my biggest life regrets is not doing dance exchange. I wish I did the Garba one because it’s a cultural thing, it’s a part of me. It’s a big time commitment, but I still wish I did it, especially in my senior year.
What song will always remind you of this time in your life?
One of Natasha’s songs…Unwritten. I was thinking of that song because when you’re overthinking and you’re in a different world, where you have a lot on your mind, that song reminds you of the physical world and senses, and just grounds you to your current state; it makes you excited to live life. The lyrics, “feel the rain on your skin,” in the chorus of that song are very dramatic and loud, which makes you think of life in a vibrant way.
