TJTODAY vol 7 issue 8
senior issue 2022
thomas jefferson high school for science and technology 6560 braddock rd. alexandria, va 22312
PHOTO// E. Tillemann
we’re feeling
22
CAMPUS LEADER SHARE TJ LESSONS
SGA Leon Jia & Yeefay Li
The history books tell a strange story. Some years pass and nothing really happens. A decade is summarized in a sentence; there’s a five year gap between one page and another; these years are defined by the ones that came before them. But some years, things change. These years define the years to come. The past few years merit chapters of their own. We have lived through two years of a global pandemic and the utter loneliness
of the lockdown. Political turmoil has engulfed our school, from social media platforms all the way up to the Supreme Court. Returning from a time of chaos, we have been responsible for rebuilding TJ from the ashes. On SGA, our search for a better future has taken us from the school’s first charter in 1985 to the present day. We have worked with superintendents and school board members and administrators. From creating TowardsTJ for the freshmen and sophomore class to reviving school spirit with record-breaking events to advocating against SEL lessons to working to increase mental health resource access, we have worked to make TJ a better, happier place. To the underclassmen-- we hope that you will rise up and champion what TJ stands for-- innovation, creativity, passion. In an era marked by change and conflict, it is more important than ever that you stand with each other to work for what is right and what is good. Don’t be afraid to advocate for what you believe, to push the boundaries of possibility, to set new precedents and break old ones. TJ is a strange place. We spend half the
time complaining about how we hate the place, but those very same people doing the most complaining also take the most pride in this school. There’s a lingering feeling in the air that many things are imperfect, but also undeniably a feeling that there is some quality about TJ that is pure and special - phenomenal opportunities, impactful intellectual exchanges, lasting friendships. We hope that special TJ spirit endures. No, we are confident that it will. To the seniors-- we have been through one of the most tumultuous and rewarding journeys that TJ has ever seen. From our unbelievable four-year homecoming journey to each of our unsung heroics in bringing back every last pillar of the Jefferson experience, we have left a legacy that will stand for all time. As our futures beckon to us, remember this: you are remarkable, amazing, brilliant. Take risks. Seize the moment. Don’t forget to take time for yourself. We hope that our bonds will hold together for life, that we will open doors for each other, that we will continue to work together and build each other up. Nothing is impossible for us together.
FOOTBALL CAPTAINS For starters, both of us would agree that joining football was one of the best decisions we’d ever made. Sure, we both played sports when we were little, but never thought it would become such a large part of our lives. For those who haven’t played one, they might think playing a high school sport is simply joining a team and spending a few hours each week at practice, but football is so much more than that. This may sound cliche or overstated, but football opened our eyes to what balancing a high school experience meant and taught us lessons that we
would’ve never learned in the classroom. Summer practices, weight-room sessions, and Friday nights with the crowd cheering are all memories that we’ll never forget - not to mention the friendships we formed through football. Though it may seem as if it would be overwhelming on top of the course load at TJ, it was both a destressor that helped us get away from staring at our screens, as well as a community that we could turn to with any issues. Moreover, through playing and following our teammates’ and coaches’ advice, we both became
Hilal Hussein & Oliver Tu
inspired to try new things: lifting, sprinting, and participating in sports we’d never tried before such as Track or Lacrosse. So to any students not sure about playing a sport (you should join football), just give it a shot it’ll likely be an experience you’ll never forget.
SENIOR ISSUE 3
SYSADMINS Lauren Delwiche & Shreyas Mayya Dear TJ, A month into our freshman year, a botched upgrade to the CSL’s storage system left the whole lab shut down for days in what we call “Cephpocalypse”. Not yet Sysadmins then, we just looked at the mess and went, “Well, I sure hope that never happens again.” We are proud to report zero Cephpocalypses this year. Instead, the A/C broke, the power went out twice a week, Shreyas wrecked JupyterHub while trying to fix a small bug, Lauren deleted all of Ion’s data while upgrading, and FCPS unexpectedly shut our mail servers down for three days. Seriously, though. It’s been a roller-coaster of a year for us, but we’re immensely grateful to have served as your Lead Sysadmins. Now, we can’t continue without commending our team,
who have tirelessly fixed everything from cluster machines to signage displays. It is impossible to overstate the impact of their contributions. We also want to recognize Mr. Eckel, Dr. Torbert, Mr. Resquin, Mr. Phillips, Ms. Slonina, Ms. Delgado, and the TJ administration for all the expertise they’ve provided and their support of our program. Lastly, we’re grateful for all of you. We couldn’t have done it with your support, ranging from patience as we put out the latest fire to regular cheers of “that’s my Sysadmin!” whenever we do… anything, really. Knowing that we’re helping you makes it all worth it.
It’s been an honor, TJ. Signing off, Lauren and Shreyas Your friendly neighborhood Lead Sysadmins ansible -i hosts all -u root -m command -a “shutdown”
CLASS COUNCIL Michelle Du & Caroline Chen To the Class of 2022, In many ways, our class’s fouryear journey through TJ has been unique. Often, we boast that our class is the most spirited and passionate -- eager to step up to any challenge. While those challenges might span from Homecoming competitions to solving life-threatening disease outbreaks, we’ve seen unparalleled commitment and drive. I don’t think just any class could have amassed 6,000+ likes on an Avatar egg post. More than anything, this class has humbled us. We’ve learned patience from the talented artists who have designed class spirit wear, camaraderie from the cult-ish clubs we’re so very fond of, and work ethic from future Nobel Prize winners doing physics in their free time. The
people make TJ what it is and TJ is everything because of the people. When we walk across the stage to receive our diploma, we depart from our time at TJ, but we leave behind the legacy we’ve worked four years to carve. We will cross states, oceans, or maybe just I-495, carrying these traditions, memories, and unequivocally-TJ things with us. We’ll always have the last LockIn, “beach spirit days”, and senior sunrises to look back on. We have bright, uncertain futures ahead of us, but the uncertainty makes it all the more exciting. We’ve laughed, cried, tried, and sometimes failed together. There isn’t any other class we’d eat ghost peppers for. One last time… “We’re the best, yes it’s true, we’re the class of ‘22!”
tjMEDIA SENIOR STAFF SAYS GOODBYE anuj khemka, aafreen ali, annika duneja, nathan mo, rachel lewis, max vetter tjTODAY D espite the late nights, the agonizing review process, and the stress of deadlines, there’s something that pulls us back to tjTODAY again and again. Issue after issue, article after article, that something compels us to spend our hours telling our school’s stories. The truth is, it’s this school. Yes, TJ. The school that we so often vent about has also produced our most vibrant memories, the most passionate people, and of course, the most unique stories. This year, we focused on exploring the faces of TJ. Not just in our faces-themed photo issue, but across all eight editions of the magazine. After a year-anda-half huddled behind computer screens, we told the stories of a
unique freshman class, of physical stress reactions, and more. We misspelled names and constantly extended deadlines, but we also took banger photos, wrote some iconic stories (Thao Nguyen?!), and -ified our way to design success. And it was all for you, TJ. You inspire us to scour every inch of Jefferson, conducting interviews and capturing snapshots of community members as we tell the stories that matter. Without the innovation, energy, and tenacity of Jefferson’s students, this magazine would be meaningless. Before we say farewell, some other shoutouts are in order: Thank you to Ms. Harris for being the national treasure that you are. What TJ Media would be without you — what WE would
be — we do not know. Thank you to the underclassmen staffers on tjTODAY, who see as much potential in this publication as we do. It feels weird leaving behind this baby of ours, but we can sleep at night knowing that tjTODAY is in good hands. If you can put up with opening InDesign on an FCPSon laptop, you can get through anything. Most of all, thank you to every student, teacher, alumni, faculty member, and parent that has allowed us to feature them. You didn’t have to sit through the long interviews, the chaotic photoshoots, and random follow up questions, but you did. And for that, we are forever grateful. Goodbye TJ. May you continue to foster stories worth telling.
jessica feng, yeefay li, isha patel, grace kang Techniques
W
e’ve had the honor of being part of Techniques during our time at TJ. In those years, there have been times when we wanted to give up; when the deadline seemed too close and the content too sparse. But we made it through and grew into journalists, designers, and friends. There’s a special weight that comes with deciding the theme of a yearbook. How can the staff predict the way the year will turn out? It’s a combination of fortune-telling and hope. We’re hoping that we choose a tone that matches the year, that we can cover
the important stories, and that students will open their yearbook and reminisce. Over the summer, we tried countless catchphrases and finally settled on “Relax. It’s just TJ.” It’s a prediction that this year would bring back our special traditions and remind students to relax - there’s a world outside TJ. We’re finally all back to the building and we want to take advantage of uniquely TJ things like Homecoming events, tjSTAR, and iNite. What makes the yearbook unique isn’t the school, theme, or design. It’s the stories highlighting students and the exciting things they’re
taking on. This year the U.S Space Force visited for their 1st anniversary, the Virginia mask mandate was revoked, and the Class of 2022 won Homecoming for the second time in a row. We defined the kind of year we had and we’ll continue to do so for years to come. Thank you to the staff of Techniques for making these books possible. Thank you to Ms. Harris for guiding us through the process. Finally, thank you to the students for allowing us to capture snapshots of your high school experience. This is your story, your pictures, your words.
SENIOR ISSUE 5
anvi padiyar, grace huang Teknos W e joined Teknos in our freshman year, excited to explore the latest innovations in science and technology through journalism. Writing for Teknos was like pointing a magnifying glass at the most interesting and remote corners of the research world. As staff writers, we zoomed into both broad, global concerns and small, fascinating details, covering topics as imperative as climate change and as intriguing as the science behind naps. Throughout our four years at Teknos, we were honored to be
elaine li tjTV A
joined by many eager students to delve into the journey of science communication as a team. We are incredibly grateful for our staff team for their creativity, determination, and passion. From late night calls working on journal spreads to eighth period meetings debating font styles and cover designs, it is because of their hard work that we could publish Volume 32 of the Teknos Science Journal. To our fellow seniors: It has been a genuine pleasure publishing your work in our journals
s a sophomore who had abandoned all the clubs she tried out in freshman year, I was looking for something new. I had heard about Print and Yearbook, but honestly had no idea Broadcast was even a branch of TJ Media. I kind of joined on a whim and on the basis that I had always wanted to be a Youtuber as a kid. It never occurred to me that I’d be where I am now. I don’t know how many members of my class know of my role in Broadcast, but it has given me a new voice and quiet power behind the amazing stories that occur at TJ. I have made many valuable memories and met some super talented people. I have messed up and learned from my mistakes throughout my 3 years on the team. Overall, it has been so incredibly fulfilling to serve the TJ community! I will truly miss the late-night editing grinds and the struggle to find a quiet interview location during lunch. Thank you to: Sean for throwing me into the deep end allowing me to recognize my potential. Sahishnu for being a great co-executive producer who I know will do even better next year. All the dedicated producers and staffers that this 250-word limit is restricting me from properly naming! And of course, Ms. Harris for giving me the freedom to explore my interests. For TJTV News, this is Elaine Li, signing off.
and on our website throughout the years. Just this year, we had the privilege of showing your articles and papers about your senior research projects to the rest of the school. Your work is an inspiration for the rest of the TJ community, influencing many future researchers to set off on their voyage in the ocean of science. Class of 2022, we have always been astounded by the creativity and innovation you’ve shown with your research and look forward to seeing your impact on the world.
Aiden Dunlop, Allison Joe, Annika Duneja, Gabriel Witkop, Grace Huang, Ignacio Toro, Pearson Frank, Rae Trainer, Trini Rogando, Vicky Chen Threshold
T
he Threshold seniors are super grateful for the experiences we’ve had working on Threshold for the past 4 years. Working on the magazine is a truly special experience. From the first brainstorming sessions of planning, to the rush of submissions the night before the deadline, and that final moment when all the pieces come together, Thresh feels like a tribute to all the creativity that TJ has to offer. While TJ may not be known for its emphasis on art, the students here are really capable of creating incredible things—trust us, we’ve seen them. Art tends to be a very personal thing, so it’s amazing to think that so many people are placing their trust in us to read their works and discuss them for Threshold.
We love being able to laugh, cry, and reflect with the pieces we receive and we also love our role in helping showcase them with our different spread designs. Our theme for this year was “Voyage”, and our magazine followed the stages of the Hero’s Journey. We chose this theme to reflect the strength of our student body through the pandemic, and our possibility for discovery. So we hope students continue to let their creativity flourish through Threshold. There’s no feeling quite like getting to see your art in a published magazine, and we want as many people as possible to discover that. So please keep writing, reading, drawing, and being as creative as you want—and when you’re happy with it, Submit to Threshold!
Superlatives Best Dressed
Most likely to be on SNL
Best Dancer
Christine Franklin Sung June Kim
Abhiram Srivastava Zander Kuebler
Pranavi Doodala AJ Seo
Social Media Mavens
Isabel Gan Michelle Ru
7
Most likely to win a grammy
Ignacio Toro Jay Abraham
3
Biggest Bookworms
Caroline Chen Micaela Wells
Most likely to rule silicon valley
Pranav Ravella Michael Fatemi
Next Socrates
Most Likely to Win a Pulitzer
Anand Advani Leon Jia Most Athletic
Trini Rogando Aafreen Ali Most likely to climb Mt. Everest
3
Hilal Hussain Jeremy West Most Likely to Donate Their Life Savings to Charity
Blake Robinson Sunshine on a cloudy day
ey
Adnan Murtaza John Kim Keith Frazer Damilola Awofisayo
SENIOR ISSUE 7
Most likely to cure a disease
Sahil Gupta Jay Siva
Most likely to become a teacher at TJ
Luke Moyar & Yeefay Li
Next tjSTAR keynote speaker
Pravalika Putalapattu Ron Nachum
Most likely to discover a new planet
Anya Mischel Amrita Sahu
Sassmasters
Next Supreme Court justices
Eshani Das & Jack Ebert
Liam Reaser & Alex Fall
Next Picassos
Best Laugh
Vickey Chen & Alice Ji
Ryan Lien & Nathan Mo
Most likely to be a movie star
Most likely to win an arguement
SUPERLATIVE S 9 SENIOR ISSUE
Best photographer
Sarina Saran Max Vetter
Sophia Suganuma Vivi Rao
Most likely to break the curve
Fiona Zheng Elliott Lee Master Chefs
Pranav Mathur & Jeb Cui
Andrew Xie & Rae Trainer
Most likely to have Hermione’s time turner
Best Friends
Most likely to dominate Wallstreet
Michelle Du Melissa Wu
Jayson Carboo Chris Arraya
Arjun Jagannathan Arya Grayeli
STARRING
UP
Starring: Atin Pothiraj & Kingsley Kim
MAGIC FOR TJ Starring: Faith Wu
PHOTOS // A. Martin
DANCING WITH TJ STARS Starring: Melissa Wu
SENIOR ISSUE 11 COVER STORY 13
THE MIGHTY COLONIALS Starring: William McLaughlin
TJ’S HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
WORK IT
Starring: Alyssa Rask
Starring: Caroline Smiltneks
FRESHMEN
PHOTOS// A. Martin
Sophomores Class of ‘22 0:00
-4:23
SENIOR ISSUE 13
FEATURING VIK MEDAVARAPU CLASS OF 2022 ________ HOMECOMING
FEATURING VIBHAV KURITI, ANDERSON MOFFITT, & SHREYAS CHENNAMARAJA
T.J.
2022
FEATURING MICHAEL ZHANG & MANDA XIE
JEFFERSON22
// J. K PHOTO
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PHO TO //
E. Le
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PHOTO // J. Kim
junior year
SENIOR ISSUE 15
F. Zheng PHOTO //
PHOT O // F . Zhen g
F. Zheng PHOTO //
PHOTO
// E. Lee
PHOTO // Z. Baker
SENIORS
PHOTO // E. Lee
PHOTO // E. Lee
SENIOR ISSUE 17
PHOTO // J. Kim
PHOTO // M. Iyer
PHOTO // Z. Baker
Arizona
Arizona State University [1] David Lyons
California
University of Southern California [2] Anna Hsu Pratyush Jaishanker
University of California Davis (3) David French Christine Franklin Elaine Li
University of California Los Angeles (2) Erin Brodnik Leydi Cris Cobo Cordon
Stanford University (4) Irfan Nafi Pranav Ravella Alison Wan Trini Rogando
University of California at Berkeley (5) Pulak Dugar JJ Sandhu Leon Jia Esha Karlekar Valerie Li
California Institute of Technology (3) Ashwitha Surabhi Mikhail Mints Eleanor Kim
University of California Irvine [1] Aviraj Singh
University of California Santa Cruz [1] Kat Kosolapova
Colorado
United States Air Force Academy [2] Catherine Nguyen Alexandra Skeen
Connecticut Yale University [6] Sumanth Ratna Lauren Delwiche Anika Karpurapu Anirudh Bansal Jeb Cui Andrew Kim
University of Connecticut [2] Mahika Rawat Christopher Santoro
District of Columbia
Georgetown University [9] Sheryn Livingstone Zacharia Shah Angelina Ly Jason Yi Micaela Wells Sarah Ali Erin Tran Isra Satiar Manda Xie
George Washington University [1] Medha Gaddam
Howard University [1] Bhaswith Suresh
Florida
University of South Florida [1] Anuj Khemka
Amit Krishnaiyer James Mallek Dan Nguyen Michelle Ru Zaeem Qureshi Pesandi Gunasekera Meghana Gopannagari Anya Parekh Juliette Kim Nathanael Tewodros
Indiana
Purdue University [10] Isha Patel Jennifer Liu Daniel DeConti Jackie Liu Chiraag Govind Liam West Aaryan Dave Jack Blair Sharvani Kondapally Jonathan Lee
Isaiah Wang
Indiana University Bloomington [2]
Georgia
Vik Medavarapu Vibhav Kuriti
University of Miami [1]
Georgia Institute of Technology [5]
Maine
Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology [9] Yeefay Li Victoria Chen Pravalika Putalapattu Mirza Hussain Garrett Heller Sunwoo Lee Abena Kyereme-Tuah Andrew Wang Tarushii Goel
Harvard University [5] Lillian Sun Melissa Wu Rae Trainer Derek Liu Ron Nachum
Northeastern University [4] William Turner Bradley Harvan Nicholas Rising Allison Joe
Olin College of Engineering [1] Ari Bobesh
Boston University [1] Vivikta Rao
Joshua Zhang Anwitha Kollipara Joanna Cheng Sagar Gupta Darin Mao
Bowdoin College [1]
Maryland
Cristian Clewis
Georgia State University [1]
Nilima Khanna Jack Ebert Megan Yu Aditya Menachery Shril Shah John Kim Onur Gunduz Hailena Bian Evan Guo Anvi Padiyar David Liu Darius Kianersi Nikhil Kamath Candace Sun Elena Rangelov Frederick Briden Jayson Carboo Nidhi Chiluikuri Andrew Xie Sai Chanda Nitin Kanchinadam
University of Michigan [11]
Joanna Abraham
Emory University [2] Sung-June Kim Elaine Li
Illinois
University of Chicago [11] Franco Scartascini Alana Nii Joshua Park Nicole Koko Yoo-Bin Kwon Arya Sapra Michelle Du Todd Ritter Akash Piya Sohini Banerjee
Northwestern University [6] Nathan Mo Ryan Lien Lily Walters Ryan Payne Allen Wang Ignacio Toro
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [11] Nidhish Lella
William Graf
University of Maryland [21]
Johns Hopkins University (2) Sanne Wu Grace Huang
U.S. Naval Academy (1) Blake Robinson
University of Massachusetts Amherst [1]
Michigan
Victoria Spencer Joshua Hsueh Riya Dev Jeanie Qi Dermot Molony Julia Lamy Sydney Belt Michelle Boisvert Abi Sastry Aaron Rahman Liam Reaser
Michigan State University [1] Charles Morse
New Jersey
Princeton University [5] Eugene Choi Pranav Mathur Kareem Jaber Sruthi Sankararaman Amrita Sahu
Stevens Institute of Technology [1] Zakariyya Scavotto
New York
United States Military Academy West Point(1) Ashley Lee
Cornell University [10] Ananda Kalukin Bryant Park Sehyun Choi Edward Lee Rhea Goswami Aarav Khanna Catherine Pak Caroline Smiltneks Fiona Zheng Jason Klein
Columbia University (2) Michael Zhang Shawn Kim
Barnard College (1) Arya Adake
New York University [9] Max Vetter Justin Chen Emily Hao Ramya Griddaluri Anna Catalano Samuel Esteban Aneri Shah Suhas Nandiraju Yatin Marpu
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [1] Quinn Powell
Rochester Institute of Technology [1] Lexi Sung
North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill [4] Alex Triaca Akshan Sameullah Annika Duneja Atin Pothiraj
Duke University [2] Dami Awofisayo Alyssa Gorbaneva
Ohio
Case Western Reserve University [3] Jayant Siva Andrea Silva Sanjay Jacob
The Ohio State University [1] Shantha Pirapakaran
Pennsylvania
Carnegie Mellon University [12]
SENIOR ISSUE 19 Andrew Lam AJ Seo Michelle Liu Isaac Lin Varshini Subramanian Taj Abdin Sameeksha Garg Aarav Bajaj Erika Ramirez Elvin Seudieu Shyla Bisht Diya Dinesh University of Pittsburgh [5] Sarina Saran Prashanth Kumaran Aiden Zurcher Tanisha Pagadala Jayashree Ezhilarasu
University of Pennsylvania [3] Caroline Chen Annika Topchy Isabel Gan
Villanova University [1] Elizabeth Brown
Pennsylvania State University [3] Akanksh Sahu Ryan Lin Matthew Lou
Lehigh University [2] Garrett Phlegar Claire Wilson
Rhode Island Brown University [5] Suraj Uppalapati Rahel Selemon Oliver Tu Sahil Gupta Anand Advani
South Carolina Clemson University [1] Anderson Moffitt
Texas
University of Texas- Austin [5] Hudson Gould Eli Lang Arya Grayeli Eshi Kohli Shrey Gupta
Rice University [2] Samhita Vinay Gabriel Witkop
Texas A&M University [1] Emily Hollinger
Texas Tech University [1] Harold Margeta-Cacace
Virginia
University of Virginia [49]
Farhan Ayaan Jinwoo Kim Jennifer Hunsinger William McLaughlin Trishal Muthan Michael Fatemi Dhruv Alladi Andy Wang Alyssa Rask Shaina Banduri Morgan Phelps Arjun Jagannathan Kyra Li Kendall Sano Steven Li Albert Huang Anjali Pagidi Matthew Lucio Grant Xiao Will Hancock Prathik Nalamalapu Michelle Lin Pearson Frank Aishani Patnaik Edward Li Hasita Nalluri Max Wang Bhavya Guduru Shreyas Mayya James Xu Aadarsh Natarajan Steven Chen Autin Mitra Ben Chang Madhav Samudrala Aditya Kak Hariprasad Periyasamy Grace Kang Gavin Crigger Marina Wang Raffu Khondaker Natalie Wu Joaquim Das Hari Gajjala Arjuna Bazaz Kingsley Kim Suhas Gangadari Adnan Murtaza Luke Moyar
College of William & Mary[26] Aafreen Ali David Zhao Aadil Mallick Kailyn Pudleiner Alexandra Fall Libby McClough Clara McAllister Maria Dubasov Vandana Kalithkar David Hu Sreeram Pillai Justine Chu Owen Rollins
Raakin Kabir Jashwanth Puvvadi Alex Zhou Rachel Kwon Paul Appler Saurav Banerjee Kate Bellamy Gregory Byun Anson Chen Addison Greenfeld Elliott Lee Tomas Torterola Katie Barlow
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [7] Jason Gross Ashwini Ramkumar Bowen Zhang Simba Srivastava Alexander Peal Nicholas Bonanno Marissa Hirakawa Lauren Spehlmann
Virginia Commonwealth University [10] Aryan Kumawat Faith Wu April Tian Joseph Rother Arjun Jagdeesh Callie Thomas Akash Jagdeesh Simran Sidhu Srimann Ramachandruni Kazi Rahman
George Mason University [10] Jack Baisch Ahmad Barokah Aiden Dunlop Suchita Hadimani Joniel Jerome Priya Kallat Jordan Phillips Tushar Rangaswamy Nicolas Tiongson Rishitha Voleti
James Madison University [1] James Handlon
International
University of Oxford [1] Sophia Suganuma
ESSEC School of Business [1] Zander Kuebler
Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (1) Carolin Kiewel
Aalto University (1) Roope Kettunen
Taj Abdin Carnegie Mellon University “My hands are wet so my pockets are never dry.” Joanna Abraham Georgia State University “You’re not out of time yet.” Arya Adake Barnard College “The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” - Dead Poets Society Anand Advani Brown University “I will uphold academic and personal integrity in the TJ community” Aafreen Ali College of William and Mary “Life is chaos, success is completely arbitrary, and confidence is everything.” - Gina Linetti Sarah Ali Georgetown University “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” Dhruv Alladi University of Virginia “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” Paul Appler College of William and Mary “lol bye” Dami Awofisayo Duke University “I can’t cry about having a lot on my plate if my goal was to eat” Farhan Ayaan University of Virginia “Never forget.” Jack Baisch George Mason University “The only person who can sympathize with you and understand you, is you. So, be good to yourself.” - Hideaki Anno
Aarav Bajaj Carnegie Mellon University “How others see you isn’t important, how you see yourself means everything”
Jack Blair Purdue University “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are for.”
Shaina Banduri University of Virginia
Ari Bobesh Olin College of Engineering
Saurav Banerjee College of William and Mary “The due date is the do date”
Michelle Boisvert University of Michigan “High School Musical is pretty unrealistic”
Sohini Banerjee University of Chicago “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” Anirudh Bansal Yale University “If you’re committed enough, you can make any story work.” - Saul Goodman Katie Barlow College of William and Mary Ahmad Barokah George Mason University “Workin’ on the weekend like usual way off in the deep end like usual” Arjuna Bazaz University of Virginia Kate Bellamy College of William and Mary “If you find yourself with a desire that no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that you were made for another world”- C.S. Lewis Sydney Belt University of Michigan “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” -William Shakespeare (Hamlet) Hailena Bian University of Maryland Shyla Bisht Carnegie Mellon University “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.”
Nicholas Bonanno Virginia Polytechnic Institute “A big thanks to YouTube and Reddit for the bags under my eyes” Frederick Briden University of Maryland “Wen u realise that ur nothing u can see the love in everything n So thats whyim.always crying MOm - Bladee” Erin Brodnik University of California, Los Angeles “Got your wings now you can’t stay.” Elizabeth Brown Villanova University Gregory Byun College of William and Mary “Bit of a gamer, bit of a god” Jayson Carboo University of Maryland “Mfs will be on tiktok 24/7 but won’t even see the time TIK until it’s too late and their teachers give them a TOK about a 24/7 on their test LMAO…Wait what” Anna Catalano New York University Sai Chanda University of Maryland “My future is bright like a Chanda-lier.” Ben Chang University of Virginia “Eyes with pride. Always.”
Anson Chen College of William and Mary “bruh shi jian” Caroline Chen University of Pennsylvania “Reading one book is like eating one potato chip” - Diane Duane Justin Chen New York University “ ”
👍
Steven Chen University of Virginia Victoria Chen Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Always follow your heart unless your heart is bad with directions.” - Spongebob Joanna Cheng Georgia Institute of Technology “that’s a you problem” Nidhi Chilukuri University of Maryland “99% of Mitski’s Spotify streams are from me over the past four years.” Eugene Choi Princeton University “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s learning to dance in the rain.” Sehyun Choi Cornell University “I’m just like Batman except instead of fighting crime I listen to Radiohead” Justine Chu College of William and Mary “There’s always time for jumping off the deep end.” Cristian Clewis University of Massachusetts Amherst “Call me Tiger Woods the way I crushed GPA golf.”
Gavin Crigger University of Virginia “STAYC girls...” Jeb Cui Yale University “Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.” - Lin-Manuel Miranda Joaquim Das University of Virginia “Life is not graded on a curve.” Aaryan Dave Purdue University “I don’t know, I never thought I’d get this far” - Sheldon J. Plankton Daniel DeConti Purdue University “Across the sea of space, the stars are other suns.” - Carl Sagan Lauren Delwiche Yale University “cowsay ‘It’s Ion, not ION’ & logout 2022ldewich” Riya Dev University of Michigan “I don’t like to gamble, but if there’s one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.” -Beyonce Diya Dinesh Carnegie Mellon University “Just because I’m awake doesn’t mean that I’m functioning at full capacity.” Michelle Du University of Chicago “If you can dream it, you can DU it.” - Tom Fitzgerald (of Disney) Maria Dubasov College of William and Mary “What Do You Care What Other People Think?”
Pulak Dugar University of California, Berkeley “The best things in life are free.”
David French University of California, Davis “What would you do if when you okay so he said yes would go?”
Annika Duneja University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “This is my coming of age movie”
Medha Gaddam George Washington University
Aiden Dunlop George Mason University “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” Jack Ebert University of Maryland “Trini’s quote is my quote” Samuel Esteban New York University “From the sunrise to the sunset; we’ll fly away like we once said (Yeah, Yeah)” - ESTEBAN Jayashree Ezhilarasu University of Pittsburgh “the butterfly effect goes crazy bc one flap made like the cutest tornado #fyp” Alexandra Fall College of William and Mary “Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshipped.” - Andy Weir, The Martian” Michael Fatemi University of Virginia Pearson Frank University of Virginia “A man without aim is like a clock without hands, as useless if it turns as if it stands” - a fortune cookie Christine Franklin University of California, Davis “…it’s going down”
Hari Gajjala University of Virginia “Commas are for the weak, who need to breathe mid sentence.” Isabel Gan University of Pennsylvania “time to go back to sleep” Harrish Ganesh Virginia Commonwealth University “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” Suhas Gangadari University of Virginia “nerd emoji” Sameeksha Garg Carnegie Mellon University “The middle of adventure, such a perfect place to start” - Arctic Monkeys Tarushii Goel Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Attention is all you need” Vaswani et al. Meghana Gopannagari University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Alyssa Gorbaneva Duke University “Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” – Bob Riley Rhea Goswami Cornell University “Not all goodbyes are sad. For example, goodbye high school.”
SENIOR ISSUE 21
Hudson Gould University of Texas at Austin “What, so everyone’s supposed to sleep every single night now? You realize that nighttime makes up half of all time?” - Rick Sanchez Chiraag Govind Purdue University “Spoiler for passion: Apathy-ish” William Graf Bowdoin College “This here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!” Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Arya Grayeli University of Texas at Austin “All about the green, call it par for course” Addison Greenfeld College of William & Mary “LBKA” Ramya Griddaluri New York University “I’ve always wanted to have a Supreme Court case named after me. Like “Griddaluri vs. State” or something. That would be so dope.” Jason Gross Virginia Polytechnic Institute “The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.” Bhavya Guduru University of Virginia “You’re only given a little spark of madness. Don’t lose it.” Pesandi Gunasekera University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Onur Gunduz University of Maryland “You can turn a couple staples into a winning tradition as long as you come back the next day with even more drive.”
Evan Guo University of Maryland “Just go with your gut” Sagar Gupta Georgia Institute of Technology Sahil Gupta Brown University Shrey Gupta University of Texas at Austin “A better decision is 24 hours away”
Joshua Hsueh University of Michigan “El Chapo escaped prison in 7 years, but I’m doing it in 4” David Hu College of William and Mary “winnable :)” Albert Huang University of Virginia “The vibes are immaculate”
Suchita Hadimani George Mason University
Grace Huang Johns Hopkins University “I could be bounded in a nut shell and count myself a king of infinite space”
Will Hancock University of Virginia “Fate would not have the reputation it has, if it simply did what it seemed it would do”
Jennifer Hunsinger University of Virginia “Si demissior ibis, unda gravet pennas, si celsior, ignis adurat: inter utrumque vola.”
James Handlon James Madison University “The Jame’s Names, Names James”
Hilal Hussain Massachusetts Institute of Technology “love laugh live. oh and follow @goons_lift”
Emily Hao New York University “Should the day ever come that we are not together...” Bradley Harvan Northeastern University “Let the big dog eat” Garrett Heller Massachusetts Institute of Technology “wait up” Marissa Hirakawa Virginia Polytechnic Institute Emily Hollinger Texas A&M University “Be the chaos you want to see in the world” -Mollymauk Tealeaf Anna Hsu University of Southern California “I face my problems with 6’3” energy.”
Kareem Jaber Princeton University “If you wear a sock inside out, the entire universe is wearing a sock except for you.” Sanjay Jacob Case Western Reserve University “Life is a highway, it’s up to you how far you drive” Arjun Jagannathan University of Virginia Arjun Jagdeesh Virginia Commonwealth University “What they say, if you don’t shoot...the shots you don’t make...you miss all of ‘em” -blou Akash Jagdeesh Virginia Commonwealth University “nice... made me happy, made me smile, nice”
Pratyush Jaishanker University of Southern California “Just woke up feelin’ real dangerous” Joniel Jerome George Mason University Leon Jia University of California, Berkeley “i think the meaning of life is to drink water” Allison Joe Northeastern University Raakin Kabir College of William and Mary “Darwin was wrong bro, everybody here is a snake not a monkey” Aditya Kak University of Virginia “Opportunity does not knock, you must pound on its ever-open door.” Vandana Kalithkar College of William and Mary “Allons-y!” Priya Kallat George Mason University “( ,,> v <,,)/ * .+.~” Ananda Kalukin Cornell University “Always look on the bright side of life” - Monty Python and the Life of Brian Nikhil Kamath University of Maryland “ATTENTION! thanks for your attention” Nitin Kanchinadam University of Maryland “The last four years have been a violation of my Eighth Amendment rights.” Grace Kang University of Virginia “~.+. * \(,,u __ u,, )”
Esha Karlekar University of California, Berkeley Anika Karpurapu Yale University “When life throws you a rainy day, play in the puddles.” ~ Winnie the Pooh Roope Kettunen Aalto University Nilima Khanna University of Maryland “Be the cat you were always destined to be... meow” Aarav Khanna Cornell University “Sometimes when I close my eyes I can’t see” Anuj Khemka University of South Florida “Another chapter in the incredible story of this little man” Raffu Khondaker University of Virginia “The secret to enjoying life is” Darius Kianersi University of Maryland “When in doubt, go to the library.” — Ron Weasley Carolin Kiewel Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen “Ich weiß es ist dir ernst, du kannst mich hier grad nicht entbehren; Nur keine Angst, ich bleib’ nicht all zu lange fern; Muss nur noch kurz die Welt retten” Andrew Kim Yale University “Let’s just say the world ended a week from now, what would you do?” Eleanor Kim California Institute of Technology Jinwoo Kim University of Virginia “Unlucky”
John Kim University of Maryland “TJHSST - 93.68% 720x HD,DT” Juliette Kim University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “speaking G.K. since ‘04” Kingsley Kim University of Virginia “It’s a game of uno the way they hit the reverse on my greencard” Shawn Kim Columbia University Sung-June Kim Emory University “you was hatin but you switched up cause i’m next up” Jason Klein Cornell University “It’s never the wrong time to say good morning” Eshi Kohli University of Texas at Austin “Life opens at the close” Nicole Koko University of Chicago “They say to follow your dreams, so I went back to sleep.” Anwitha Kollipara Georgia Institute of Technology Sharvani Kondapally Purdue University “Live fast, die young; bad girls do it well.” Kat Kosolapova University of California, Santa Cruz “I thought you were American?” Amit Krishnaiyer University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “Every goal has a goalkeeper, but that doesn’t mean you can’t score.”
Zander Kuebler ESSEC School of Business “That’s a big deal!” Prashanth Kumaran University of Pittsburgh “Put these foolish ambitions to rest” Aryan Kumawat Virginia Commonwealth University “Time flies” Vibhav Kuriti Indiana University Bloomington “This due at 11:59 too?” Yoo-Bin Kwon University of Chicago “Could’ve been worse” Rachel Kwon College of William and Mary “Saudade. That’s what that feeling is called. A longing of sorts, for people and memories and love that’s no longer physically here.” - Zachary, Saudade; the one where i miss you Abena Kyereme-Tuah Massachusetts Institute of Technology “In times of crisis, the wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers.” – Black Panther Andrew Lam Carnegie Mellon University andrew lam andrew lam andrew lam andrew lam andrew lam andrew lam andrew lam andrew lam andrew lame andrew lam andrew lam andrew lam andrew Julia Lamy University of Michigan “I’m not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?” - Chandler Bing Eli Lang University of Texas at Austin “Take a break from things that aren’t working and don’t be afraid to try new things!”
Ashley Lee U.S. Military Academy West Point “Use your core to pick up heavy objects, not your back.” Edward Lee Cornell University “I’m reading a cool book about anti-gravity: it’s impossible to put down.” Elliott Lee College of William & Mary “12:00:09 AM ET” Sunwoo Lee Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Thought it was luck until I did it again” Jonathan Lee Purdue University “Drive fast, leave a sexy corpse”
SENIOR ISSUE 23
Yeefay Li Massachusetts Institute of Technology “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” - Winnie the Pooh Ryan Lien Northwestern University “Love until it hurts. Dream until you’re terrified. May your eyes stay forever bright.” Issac Lin Carnegie Mellon University “ye ye ye” Michelle Lin University of Virginia “I want to live a bit longer, even if I’m less happy. That’s why I’m a slave to capitalism” Ryan Li Pennsylvania State University
Nidhish Lella University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
David Liu University of Maryland “so true”
Rachel Lewis University of Virgnia “so true bestie”
Derek Liu Harvard University “be am double you”
Edward Li University of Virginia Elaine Li Emory University “the one on yearbook”
Jennifer Liu Purdue University “-.-. --- -. --. .-. .- - ... / -.-- --..- / .... .- ...- . / - .... . / -.-. ..- .-. .. --- ... .. - -.-- / - --- / ... ..- .-. ...- .. ...- . / - .---”
Elaine Li University of California, Davis “the one on broadcast”
Jackie Liu Purdue University “Live laugh love <3”
Kyra Li University of Virginia “what did the kid say when he committed to the best university in the country?”
Michelle Liu Carnegie Mellon University
Steven Li University of Virginia “Wahoo(wa)!” Valerie Li University of California, Berkeley
Sheryn Livingstone Georgetown University “Some people graduate, but be still stupid” Matthew Lou Pennsylvania State University “I hate life so much I keep living out of spite.”
Matthew Lucio University of Virginia “Sometimes you need to take responsibility for your own happiness.” - Mr. Cuddlywhiskers Angelina Ly Georgetown University “H.A.G.S. lolz” David Lyons Arizona State University “Taxes are like missing assignments, as long as you do them eventually missing the due date is fine.” James Mallek University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “1 grain of wheat does not make a heap.” Aadil Mallick College of William and Mary “L + ratio + nobody asked” Darin Mao Georgia Institute of Technology “:lemonthink:” Harold Margeta-Cacace Texas Tech University “waj2mAas9Bc” Yatin Marpu New York University Pranav Mathur Princeton University Shreyas Mayya University of Virginia “It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy... let’s go exploring!” Clara McAllister College of William and Mary “After years of learning English, I still don’t know what ‘free time’ is.” Libby McClough College of William and Mary “I’m probably fine. But I also might be dead.” - Nick Miller, New Girl
William McLaughlin University of Virginia “Time is precious. Waste it wisely.” Vik Medavarapu Indiana University Bloomington “I play the player not the game.” Aditya Menachery University of Maryland “Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.” Mikhail Mints California Institute of Technology “No to war!” Autin Mitra University of Virginia “autin mitra autin mitra autin mitra autin mitra autin mitra autin mitra autin mitra autin mitra austin mitra autin mitra autin mitra autin m” Nathan Mo Northwestern University “100 problems bc my attendance is one” Anderson Moffitt Clemson University “shmeezy” Dermot Molony University of Michigan “Not everybody wins, and certainly not everybody wins all the time. But once you get into your boat, tie into your shoes and push off, you have indeed won far more than those who have never tried.” Charles Morse Michigan State University “The past is immutable - the only thing we can change is the future.”
Luke Moyar University of Virginia “Hello” Adnan Murtaza University of Virginia “I swear I spent more time doing humanities homework than any STEM class here” Trishal Muthan University of Virginia “#sixseasonsandamovie” Ron Nachum Harvard University Irfan Nafi Stanford University Prathik Nalamalapu University of Virginia “Mr. Potoker, 2 years ago I panicked and I regret to inform you that I’m not actually Hawaiian.” Hasita Nalluri University of Virginia Suhas Nandiraju New York University “I look better in person.” Aadarsh Natarajan University of Virginia “Goodbye, nerds!” Catherine Nguyen U.S. Air Force Academy “Hey Look Ma, I Made It” Dan Nguyen University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “couldn’t think of a quote the senioritis hit me on this one” Alana Nii University of Chicago “Join poi!” Anvi Padiyar University of Maryland “I want you to be happy / Free to run, get dizzy on caffeine / Funny friends that make you laugh / And maybe you’re just a little bit dappy” - Glass Animals
Tanisha Pagadala University of Pittsburgh “Sometimes if you’re lost it’s best to just go along for the ride.” - Ferb Anjali Pagidi University of Virginia “The Good Place Season 3 Episode 1 15:40-15:51” Catherine Pak Cornell University “you get gapped. i get...” Anya Parekh University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “easy come, easy go” Joshua Park University of Chicago “Shout outs to the soccer moms” Bryant Park Cornell University “If you like TJ, you’ll LOVE TJ Live!” Isha Patel Purdue University “My life is a backspace key, I never think before I speach.” Aishani Patnaik University of Virginia “Never think you are alone. TJ kids are active on messenger at all times.” Ryan Payne Northwestern University “just keep drumming :)” Alexander Peal Virginia Polytechnic Institute Hariprasad Periyasamy University of Virginia’s College at Wise “Just like revolving doors, I will never finish my journey.” Morgan Phelps University of Virginia Jordan Phillips George Mason University “okay, bye”
Garrett Phlegar Lehigh University “When you have the chance, take it. Laugh, sing, dance. Don’t allow the night to end.”
Aaron Rahman University of Michigan “Why waste time on a quote when you can spend that time doing what you love?”
Sreeram Pillai College of William and Mary
Armina Rahman Virginia Commonwealth University “Wherever you go, go with all your heart”
Shantha Pirapakaran Ohio State University “Good bye for meow” Akash Piya University of Chicago Atin Pothiraj University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “Kachow!” Quinn Powell Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Kailyn Pudleiner College of William and Mary “Friendship is magic.” -My Little Pony Pravalika Putalapattu Massachusetts Institute of Technology “An excellent quote is like a spicy potato soft taco from the Taco Bell dollar menu -- layered, overpowering, and catered to the masses.” Jashwanth Puvvadi College of William and Mary “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” - Andy Bernard Jeanie Qi University of Michigan “Failures Become Great Memories” Rolina Qu “Set your heart ablaze.” Zaeem Qureshi University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “I walk with a limp but still gon run to the money”
Srimann Ramachandruni Virginia Commonwealth University “RS with a C, on the grind for that B”
Liam Reaser University of Michigan Nicholas Rising Northeastern University “Dig below the red band near 38°45’15.1”N 77°15’27.7”W.” Todd Ritter University of Chicago “Every day is a gift. Make the most of it.” Blake Robinson U.S. Naval Academy “What is life worth if we do not risk it for one another.”
Erika Ramirez Carnegie Mellon University
Trini Rogando “Jack’s quote is my quote”
Ashwini Ramkumar Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Owen Rollins College of William and Mary “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.”
Tushar Rangaswamy George Mason University “Reading the card explains the card.” Elena Rangelov University of Maryland “IVE BEEN TRYNA TELL YOU IDIOTS ABOUT JELLYFISH BUT NOOOOO NO ONE WANTS TO LISTEN. WHEN THEY LEARN HOW TO DRIVE WE ARE ALL GONNA DIE.” - Tyler, the Creator Vivikta Rao Boston University “I give this year a “D”, for delightful” - Troy Barnes Alyssa Rask University of Virginia Sumanth Ratna Yale University Pranav Ravella Stanford University “Stopped blowing chances, started blowing balloons.” Mahika Rawat University of Connecticut
Joseph Rother Virginia Commonwealth University “These kids always asking when they’re gonna use calculus in the real world, meanwhile I gotta sit through fle.” Michelle Ru University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “I promise that you’ll never find another like me” Akanksh Sahu Pennsylvania State University “Newton’s third law. You gotta leave something behind” Interstellar Amrita Sahu Princeton University “Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes” - RBG Akshan Sameullah University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “In this life, you’re either a smart fella or a fart smella.”
SENIOR ISSUE 25
Madhav Samudrala University of Virginia “I became the journey to realize the destination.”
JJ Sandhu University of California, Berkeley “Look I know it’s easy to say it was just a fluke… hell maybe it was. Then again, a fluke is one of the most common fish in the sea. So if you go fishing for a fluke, chances are you just might catch one” Sruthi Sankararaman Princeton University “Live Mas” - T. Bell Kendall Sano University of Virginia “Learning is great but winning is better” Christopher Santoro University of Connecticut “The longed for that cometh beyond hope lies within.” Arya Sapra University of Chicago “Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you.” Taylor Swift Sarina Saran University of Pittsburgh “Work so hard that one day your signature becomes an autograph!” Abi Sastry University of Michigan “Success is 1% inspiration, 98% perspiration, and 2% attention to detail.” Isra Satiar Georgetown University “4 years straight without a bad hair day” Franco Scartascini University of Chicago “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Zakariyya Scavotto Stevens Institute of Technology “Aren’t I just hilarious? And best of all, humble!” Rahel Selemon Brown University “I hope I don’t regret this in a few years...” AJ Seo Carnegie Mellon University “what i’m taking away from tj: don’t procrastinate, leave no regrets, and have fun :)” Elvin Seudieu Carnegie Mellon University “Stuck out like a sore thumb, so I gave em the finger” Shril Shah University of Maryland Zacharia Shah Georgetown University Aneri Shah New York University “いい日だね ☼” Addison Sharp “So it goes.” Simran Sidhu Virginia Commonwealth University “My purpose can be something as simple as to laugh” Andrea Silva Case Western Reserve University “it’s kind of fun to do the impossible” - walt disney Aviraj Singh University of California, Irvine “ACTIVE: Jax enters Evasion, a defensive stance, for 2 seconds, causing all non-turret basic attacks against him to be dodged” Jayant Siva Case Western Reserve University ”I used to be indecisive but now I am not quite sure”
Alexandra Skeen U.S. Air Force Academy
- Noel Miller, November 16th, 2019
Caroline Smiltneks Cornell University “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Callie Thomas Virginia Commonwealth University “And the Little Prince went on his way, thinking about his flower” - The Little Prince
Lauren Spehlmann Virginia Polytechnic Institute Victoria Spencer University of Michigan “yeah!” Simba Srivastava Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “It’s gonna happen. I’m gonna name Simbasaurus. You can’t stop me. No one can.” Varshini Subramanian Carnegie Mellon University “How can a person know everything in ‘18, but nothing in ‘22” - Taylor Swift Sophia Suganuma University of Oxford “Guess what?” Lillian Sun Harvard University “Don’t you dream impossible things?” Candace Sun University of Maryland Lexi Sung Rochester Institute of Technology “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” -Wayne Gretzky Ashwitha Surabhi California Institute of Technology Bhaswith Suresh Howard University “If life is too short, just run faster” Nathanael Tewodros University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “BROKE [people] gotta steal jokes cause they got no CENTS of humor smh”
Oliver Tu Brown University “Death, taxes, and fire content on @goons_lift” William Turner Northeastern University “Can I still get an extension on the robot project?”
Christopher Thomas https://open.spotify.com/ playlist/1NvzAhoR23zXtg9MT5dCfx?si=EwQgfwD0ROm4pEnDgeitAg
Suraj Uppalapati Brown University “They call me balloons because I’m always rising to the top.” Ravellations
April Tian Virginia Commonwealth University “Yes, I was born in April.”
Max Vetter New York University “I might not know what’s going on, but at least I can tell you a bit too much about Mad Max: Fury Road.”
Nicolas Tiongson George Mason University “I cannot fight. I cannot think. But with patience, I will make my way through.” - Sign in the CORE from Undertale
Samhita Vinay Rice University “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Annika Topchy University of Pennsylvania “Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now”
Rishitha Voleti George Mason University “Never compare yourself with others. If you do, you will never find your unique quality.”
Ignacio Toro Northwestern University “Sometimes life betrays you so bad just to set you up to ball”
Lily Walters Northwestern University “Live in the moment. Laugh a little too loudly and take an absurd amount of pictures— everything only happens once, so try to make the most of it:)”
Tomas Torterola College of William & Mary “Indubitably” Rae Trainer Harvard University “Life’s a peach… eat it!” Erin Tran Georgetown University Alex Triaca University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “I feel a great regard for trees; they represent age and beauty and the miracles of life and growth”
Alison Wan Stanford University Allen Wang Northwestern University “Don’t hold in your pee” Andrew Wang Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Finish becoming great more” Andy Wang University of Virginia
Isaiah Wang University of Miami “What do you mean did you shuffle?!? You SAW me shuffle it!!” Max Wang University of Virginia “A free lunch sometimes really is a free lunch - don’t overthink it, seize the opportunity when it presents itself ” Marina Wang University of Virginia “I started high school with straight A’s, and now I’m not even straight.” Micaela Wells Georgetown University “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, but imagination embraces the entire world and all there ever will be to know and understand.” - Albert Einstein Liam West Purdue University “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 Claire Wilson Lehigh University “I like pineapples as a concept.” Gabriel Witkop Rice University “Life is like a sandwich: either way you flip it, the bread comes first :100:” Melissa Wu Harvard University “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory” - Dr. Seuss Faith Wu Virginia Commonwealth University “woman moment”
Sanne Wu Johns Hopkins University “no one can gain something without sacrificing something.” Natalie Wu University of Virginia “Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.” -Corrie ten Boom Grant Xiao University of Virginia “Iron is a hard elo” Andrew Xie University of Maryland “Things won’t always be a breeze. Situations can split and fracture your mind thinking of a remedy. In a bind, don’t think you have to be alone. Together, we can ascent the icebox and reach a haven.” Manda Xie Georgetown University “Don’t let people tell you who you are. You tell them.” James Xu University of Virginia “Just keep breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin’ and breathin’” Keertana Yalamanchili Brown University “~difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations~” Jason Yi Georgetown University “the belly rules the mind” Rick Yoon University of Chicago “Life is like a deck of cards -it’s full of highs and lows, but you’ll never expect what you’ll get! But it could be the nine of clubs.” Megan Yu University of Maryland <3 Bowen Zhang Virginia Polytechnic Institute “I could agree with you but then we’d both be wrong.” – Harvey Specter
Joshua Zhang Georgia Institute of Technology Michael Zhang Columbia University “Go Lions” David Zhao College of William and Mary “Acta est fabula, plaudite” Fiona Zheng Cornell University Jason Zhong University of Maryland Alexander Zhou College of William and Mary “From dusk to dawn, all things change” Aiden Zurcher University of Pittsburgh “Konservu la plej bonan por la lasta”
SENIOR ISSUE 27
and
“Part of the reason that I drifted away from music was because it felt very forced. The end goal was more or less to play in competitions. Frankly, I think if quarantine didn’t happen, I wouldn’t have rediscovered it. At that point, I was more so playing for leisure; when it was just me playing, I was able to see things in the music and piano that I hadn’t before.” “[One] aspect of what it means to perform is to understand what you want your audience to feel when you play, so when you take that into consideration, it adds a new depth to your playing. You have to adjust how you approach the music.”
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
NA-THENNOW “After that interview, I told myself I wasn’t going to join TJ Media because I got clowned on so hard for doing it. But [with] some insistence from friends and my family, I was like ‘maybe it’ll be fun’, and here I am, three years later. Being on that back cover, even though I hated it so much, [was] actually intriguing to me— understanding the process that goes into making the magazines and being able to be a part of it.” “[One] thing that I really struggled with at that time was [that] I didn’t have my priorities straight. I told myself I would do all these clubs like Science Olympiad, Quizbowl, [and] Class Council. When you’re looking from the outside in, you feel like you can do anything because there are so many possibilities at [Jefferson], but once you actually get into it, you sort of realize that that’s not possible.”
PHOTO by Anuj Khemka REPORTING by Anuj Khemka and Rachel Lewis
Senior
Nathan Mo