Interests: Basketball, American flag football, soccer/football, basketball, track and field, PE, the musical, instrumentals(I play trombone and drums), reading, math and science, tag, Crystal Ambassador, coding, but there are always more!
Class Year: 2029
Hometown: Palo Alto and Newark CA
School attended before Crystal: Juana Briones Elementary and Keys School
What made you decide to come to Crystal?
What I have enjoyed about my time at Crystal is the balance of academics, exercise, and fun activities. Even from the first day, everyone was so welcoming and we really get to the crux of learning. While sometimes our community needs a refresher on our core values, we are always resilient after that and an amazing community to be in. Another thing I have enjoyed is how open the space is. Even if I am having a bad day, because of maybe a class or a situation at home, then this open air, almost community college like environment lifts me up.There are so many options to do during recess - you don’t even need to have friends to do them! For example, playing pickleball, American football, football, basketball, tag, or just talking are all opportunities to enjoy the day. Further, inside classes, there is always the best teaching and my favorite teachers are all from this school. We also have extracurricular activities like joining sports or theatre programs. Not to mention Crystal-only events like Convocation, Fun in the Sun (although it was more cloudy last time), visits to the Upper School, grade socials, and even spirit prizes about cleaning up our environment! This all culminates in an amazing school that encourages everyone and, regardless if anyone is mean or dismissive of you, always pushes you to make new opportunities.
Outside of the classroom:
I used to play club soccer. Now I play squash, which is similar to racquetball, in addition to amateur basketball, LCM(parliamentary and model UNITED NATIONS) debate, Lincoln Douglas Debate, running and HIIT outside of school, trombone, concert band. But in Crystal, I join music clubs, brain games clubs, and even running-around athletic clubs. These are usually offered 3-4 times per year. I already listed the sports that I do at crystal, but I also perform in either the musical and/or the play. I also help with events sometimes, like setting up or even recording our version of Hot Ones. These opportunities are really amazing, so if you want to try them, join our community!