How do you think being part of the “COVID Class” impacted your perspective on high school and college?

I really didn’t get a transition from high school to college. I know a lot of people during that time didn’t choose to go in-person to classes, because it was all online. I had the opportunity to still be in the dorms, but we were under strict regulation for COVID and who was allowed in and out of the dorms. Even though I moved to Penn State, I felt like it was another year of [highschool] classes, not [that I was] starting college. 

In high school, you competed in ice skating. What did your career look like?

Ice skating is a really hard sport to break out in. I went up to Nationals but I mostly did local competitions. There’s competitions that pop off during the season, in the fall and in the summer that I did. I [had skated] at my local rink [since I was] eight years old. Nationals and Sectionals were [in] Hershey and then Northern Philly. I stopped competing around junior year because I wanted to focus on school, but I never stopped skating.

How did you get involved in high school? Were you part of any clubs, honor societies, or teams?

I was a part of the varsity gymnastics team, sophomore and junior year. My friend Sophia Ashton wanted to revamp our gymnastics team, so we did that [with] five other girls. We were a small team, [so] we had to go to Potomac Falls to practice, because we didn’t have the equipment. I was in band freshman year up until junior year, [I] played [the] flute. I was part of the National Honor Society and the Jewish Student Union. I did [JSU] all four years and ended up being president my senior year. I also did Battle of the Books.

What college do you go to? What year are you in? 

Penn State and I’m currently in my fifth year because I changed majors. Due to changing majors, there’s a lot of classes on my schedule that didn’t apply to my new major. I have to make up those classes and I’ll be graduating in the fall. 

What is your current major?

My current major is Multidisciplinary Studies. It’s kind of a build your own at Penn State, so mine is Asian Effect on culture, global culture and media. It’s a new major in liberal arts that I’ve been really loving. 

What was your original major?

I was in Global and International Studies. I originally wanted to do international business, but [at] Penn State, to finish with an international business degree, I would have to be up at the Lake Erie campus, all the way at the top of Pennsylvania. So, I thought Global and International Studies would be similar, because I wanted to go into more international business contracting. It ended up being so political and I didn’t like a lot of my classes. 

Have you had any internships or interesting jobs during your time there?

Right now, I’m a server/cocktail server at Champs Downtown. It’s good money that I’ve had consistently; I’m coming up on my third year now. I had an internship last year in New York. I was part of IMG modeling and the WME company from June to July. I got to be a part of backstage and runway modeling. In February, I did a week-long internship for New York Fashion Week’s spring and summer 2024. I got to do a showcase with this agency that shows department stores different brands ahead of time so they can buy spring and summer clothes for the upcoming season, even though we were in the dead of winter. They buy clothes in advance to fill up their stores. The year before that, sophomore into junior year, I was in Israel [and] Palestine, and I was working for a startup company for Fashion AI. They run a bunch of coding to make their own AI technology to help major businesses sort through inventory that they don’t use anymore and inventory that they need to restock. Now they’re branching out to the US, I still work with them today to help with translating. 

Is your end goal to be in the fashion industry?

That’s the dream. After school, I’m going to stay in Northern Virginia for a year or two to save up some money, because New York is really expensive. Then probably move to maybe Jersey City or somewhere in the Brooklyn area because it’s cheaper than Manhattan and try to find a job up there. 

Did you have any other planned internships or jobs after graduation?

After I graduate in the fall, I’m going to focus on finding an internship that can turn into a potential long term career. The [internships] pay 16 to 20 dollars an hour and unfortunately that’s not sustainable in New York. It’s a very long process after school. A lot of companies have postgraduate programs to [work] there long term and get a salary. 

What is one thing you would tell to your high school self, or a piece of advice you would give to current students?

Trust your gut. I love Penn State, first of all, but I wasn’t sure what school I wanted to go to, because I [thought] all colleges are the same. In high school, I wanted to do fashion. I never saw it as a real vision or opportunity. But trust your gut on what you want. You know yourself better than anyone.