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Cover Story
Gabriel Ortiz (continued from page 26)
Carlmont. “It really does help me,� he said. “This year I really need to go every single day.� Ortiz fell in love with the University of Southern California on a spring-break college tour organized by YCS, and his dream would be to attend the film school there. Between homework and fooling around, Ortiz said he spends “a lot of time� on his laptop. “I’m a Facebook and YouTube fanatic. I need to learn to get off Facebook and do my homework.� On the other hand, there’s a good use for Facebook in promoting a new organization he is part of, Californians Acting to Reform Education (CARE). Ortiz learned about CARE earlier this summer when he attended the California Youth Summit. Ortiz’s advice to new students at his school is this: “Don’t go down the wrong path. ... Don’t do drugs, because I have friends that did that and they dropped out. I know they’re going to struggle now because they won’t have a high school diploma. “Work hard and explore the world, and do the career that you really like.� Band he’s currently listening to: Eyes Set To Kill Favorite YouTube video/channel: ShaneDawsonTV Tech gadget he can’t live without: iPod Touch Motto he lives by: “Knowledge is power.�
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KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE well in school as well as outside of Hannah Mernyk: school and the work on college apBuckling down plications,� she said.
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fter a “pretty relaxed summer� of visiting relatives in New York, studying for SATs and organizing for a school club, senior Hannah Mernyk is excited to get back to Paly this fall to study the subjects she’s chosen. “I had more choices about my classes this year, and I’m really looking forward to AP Studio Art and AP Psychology,� Mernyk said in an interview at her dining room table. The “Fisk Guide to Colleges� and an SAT prep manual were at her side. “I feel like I could really like psychology if I get to learn more about it.� Mernyk also was excited about taking astronomy but thinks she’ll have to drop it after hearing about the tough senior-year workload from students who graduated last year. “They really underlined to incoming seniors that you need to have at least one prep (free) period, especially first semester when you’re doing college applications,� she said. Mernyk has a passion for photography, developed through her Paly coursework. She also will be the copresident of the Youth Community Service/Interact Club, which organizes service projects and works in partnership with the Rotary Club. Though looking forward to seeing her friends every day, Mernyk said she feels “nervous about the stress load� of senior year. “I’m hoping I’ll be able to do
Asked whether she has any stressrelieving tips, Mernyk’s answer echoes many teens’: sleep. “I need my sleep to function properly. I usually try to get my homework done right when I get home so I can usually get to bed by 11.� Mernyk uses Facebook for school as well as for keeping up with friends. “It’s really helpful if you need to talk to three other people you’re working with. During the school year I check up on (friends) usually once a day.� But there’s no time to play games on Facebook, she said. She does enjoy listening to alternative and, lately, classic rock on her iPod and computer — rap and hiphop not so much. As for advice she would offer students new to Paly, Mernyk said: “For freshmen I would say, ‘Enjoy the first year. It’s a lot better than middle school and not that stressful.’ “If you’re in the higher grades I’d say, ‘Try to buckle down and make sure you’re keeping up with school, because it’s probably only going to get harder.’� Band she’s currently listening to: The Doors Favorite YouTube video/channel: RemiGaillard Tech gadget she can’t live without: iPod Nano Motto she lives by: “Keep things in perspective.�