What career path do you intend to take after leaving JFK? Are you nervous to see what the future may hold?
Kayla: After leaving JFK, I plan on attending Kean University to major in my objective of becoming a lawyer, hopefully a criminal defense attorney, and see where that goes. And yes, I’m extremely nervous. I know the people in college. How it’s going, what to keep in mind, and doing a full separate thing. I’m just hoping that it goes to the point that I want it to go.
What moment from high school feels like it changed you the most?
Okay, I’m going to be honest, I got kicked out of Woodbridge. That’s why I just transferred here. Mind you, I would never get in trouble at school. So, last year was a really bad year. So definitely switching schools, I think it changed me in a positive way. I mean, I matured, but when I look back at my behavior, it can be a little bit embarrassing. Yeah, the people you hang around can definitely influence your behavior and the situation you’re in.
How has content creation positively helped you? Did it help you through high school?
So, I don’t think it helped me through high school because I started doing it again, but it’s kinda of a hobby for me. I just love it. I love recording, I love being in front of the camera, I love editing. I think it’s very fun, especially when I do videos with my friends.
What advice would the “you now” give to your freshman self or the class of ’28?
It’s okay not to be boy crazy, especially because I just came from COVID. So I didn’t have a seventh grade year, I didn’t have an eighth grade year. And I think those are very peak years for mental development. And I didn’t have those years of maturity, so I went into ninth grade like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was just crazy, every boy I saw had googly eyes.
High school can be so fun, especially when you’re not in drama, or your feelings are always hurt over someone or something.
If you had to design a class everyone had to take, what would it be and why?
Things that will be after high school, like how to file taxes. I know we have a financial class, but it doesn’t really go into depth like how to process and how we do it.
How do you handle moments when you feel stuck or unmotivated? How would you carry this into college?
One person that I go to for advice is my dad, but when he’s not available and it’s just me and my thoughts, I usually just think about the situation and what would I tell a friend of mine that’s going through this, and try to take my own advice. And also, a moment of realization is really important, because for me, once there’s something on my mind and heavy on my heart, that’s all I think about.
If you could have dinner with your senior college self, what’s a question you would ask her? How does this question resemble who you are?
What not to do, what can I avoid? To ensure I have the best college experience possible, because I didn’t have that experience in high school. The experience wasn’t what I wanted. It resembles how much I want to be better.
Do you think our generation has a unique responsibility or challenge compared to others? Why or why not?
Oh, absolutely, like we’re the first generation with technology, social media. And I was just talking to my dad this morning. I think it impacted us so much. The stuff that happened at Menlo [mass meetup because of social media]? That happened because of social media. But my dad was like, ‘This stuff did not happen back in the day.’ I think that we get a little taste of outside; it’s like everybody has to go. But I think that our generation is a bit more sensitive. I think that our opinions are more vocalized, vocalized what we’re feeling, our boundaries, the impacts we have.
How do you define success for yourself right now? What do you think that will look like in the next four years?
Getting my diploma, graduating high school is the path I’m going down right now. I feel like high school is where people find themselves, and college is obviously where things get real. But high school is where you determine the path you go down in life. Some people drop out… You know what I’m trying to say? [Once leaving high school] I want to go to law school, open my own business, and eventually build my own law firm, so that I could be my own boss.
Can you describe a setback that helped you navigate through high school?
So my parents got divorced when I was really young, and my dad put me in therapy at a very early age. So I think that helped me… I developed great communication skills very early on. So I think that I was a bit more emotionally mature than most people my age. I think that I speak very well.
