STUDENTS
FUTURE LEADERS STARS FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS ITHZEL TOSCANO ’21 • Weston Research Scholar • Science Olympiad multiple award winner • Co-president of student tutoring service Why engineering? I was convinced beyond belief I would be a lawyer. Then, I got to Tech. I realized I was an engineer at heart, and that no other profession made me feel the passion and freedom I felt while tinkering with electronics or writing some particularly complex code. Being a woman at Tech means… Initially I am underestimated, but my
gender doesn’t matter – because I get the job done. Career aspiration: Be a professor of mechanical or electrical engineering with my own lab where I can develop technologies that improve lives. Influential film: “Dora’s Fairytale Adventure.” Watching and re-watching it as a child is how I became the first in my family to learn English.
“Everything I don’t know, I want to learn. Everything people tell me I can’t do, I want to do.”
NIA BLANKSON ’20
MAJOR: industrial design COLLEGE: McGill
• Parliamentarian, National Honor Society
• Member, Tri-M National Music Honor Society • Co-MVP and co-captain, varsity soccer • Won third place, as a first-time entrant, in Tech’s annual Shakespeare Monologue Competition The class I’ll never forget: In orchestra, I used to be the one student who would play as quietly as possible, and put my music stand up high so I couldn’t be seen. However, my teacher believed in me. She
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helped me become more confident and gave me the opportunity to progress and grow. Orchestra had a huge role in my becoming the person I am today. Tech taught me: It’s OK to try things out of your comfort zone, discover new passions, and things that you don’t particularly like. Being a woman at Tech means… pushing the boundaries with academics, sports and extracurriculars. Cool thing I did: Our varsity soccer team made Tech history by becoming the first to reach the citywide finals. Role model: Phoebe Waller-Bridge Influential book: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Career aspiration: Definitely something in music. I would love to learn more about music composition.
WWW.BTHSALUMNI.ORG
TOP ROW L TO R: ZOOM PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYLE HAN ‘20; ANITA PAN, REBECCA RONNING. BOTTOM ROW: JASPER WALDMAN ‘20
MAJOR: mechatronics
