tjTODAY 2023 Senior Issue

TJTODAY vol 8 issue 6 june 2023

thomas jefferson high school for science and technology 6560 braddock rd. alexandria, va 22312

‘23 is

Finally Free

CAMPUS FIGURES SHARE TJ LESSONS

SGA Rushil Umaretiya Maxx often asks me, “do you know how you got here?” He’ll recall how I walked on stage freshman year and won a chance election, or when I applied to become a Sysadmin knowing well that I was, in fact, not the biggest nerd in the school, but still got the position. Over the past four years, we’ve built a community of some of the most intelligent, caring, accomplished, stubborn, loud, and opinionated people I might ever know. We built a family, and I can’t believe it’s almost over.

In the same way that I happened into these positions of power, it’s always felt like there has been a logical next step.

TJ’s defined structures made it so easy to pass through unnoticed and unseen, just moving on to the next thing. The thing about our class is that we’ve been

given opportunities time and time again to see past those systems. When we were forced online, we blasted music in Ms. Taylor’s chem class and organized a socially distanced Homecoming.

When we were given the freedom of senior year, we took everyone skiing and skipped school. You all have shown what amazing things you can do outside the bounds of the churning grind that we call our education system.

As you all go off to where you’re going, I ask only one thing. Don’t forget your time here. Forget the math test you failed and the senior research project you procrastinated, but don’t forget the people you loved and the family you built. They will see you through.

And hey, thanks for being part of mine.

With love, Rushil.

CLASS COUNCIL Tommy Williams It’s been a great year. I’ll never forget the heartwarming chants from the crowd after my asking at the end of our final homecoming rally: “That’s my president!

That’s my president! That’s my president!”

I want to take this letter as an opportunity to reciprocate all of the love I have received from the class of 2023. Nowhere else in the world could I find a group of people as uplifting, supportive, and talented. You all are amazing.

As we go our separate ways I’d like to make a toast to the class I am so proud to be a part of.

Cheers to the dancers, who, by choreographing and teaching their dances have ingrained a piece of their culture into TJ tradition.

Cheers to the artists, who have embellished our media, beautified our halls and designed our merch!

Cheers to the engineers who

built the class floats, theater sets, rockets, and cars and to the sys admins who kept Ion running and the server room from burning to the ground.

Cheers to the passionate: the screamers at rallies who went all out for spirit days. Thank you for electrifying the TJ collective and lifting our spirits with your positivity.

You’re all gifts to the world.

Work hard, do great things, but never forget to take a deep breath and have a little fun every once in a while.

This year we have created memories we’ll hold onto forever.

We’re the only class to organize a Ski Trip Super Bowl watch party combo, the only class to nearly collapse an entire building during prom, and will always be the class to beat.

Congrats 2023! I’ll miss you.

SENIOR ISSUE 3

GOV TEACHER Mrs. Trigoboff

To the class of 2023, I offer you (life) advice from my fitness journey.

1) Take rest days. On your rest days, rest with purpose and without apology.

Today you are a teenager, but before you know it you will be 33 and you will still need your knees. You will also need your head and your heart, so give them rest days too.

2) Set intentions, not goals. Goals focus on outcome and achievement, but intentions are about focus, consistency, and perseverance (which are way more

important).

3) Don’t do it alone. Take a hike with your husband. Play pickle ball with your parents. Schedule a barre class with your best friend from the 3rd grade. Join a co-ed soccer league. Create a community and be active within it.

4) Seek and accept help from others.

You will face adversity. You will break your wrist snowboarding. You will need help cooking and cleaning and putting binder clips on your stack of AP Government papers. Take it graciously, and when it’s your turn, give it abundantly.

5) Make peace with modifications.

The options available to you today may not always be there for you, and that’s ok. Use free weights instead of the bar.

Get your cardio on a stationary bike instead of running. Let go of what doesn’t serve you and embrace what does.

6) Seek struggle. When setting a bike resistance level for spin class my RPM

instructor says “choose a weight that scares you - something you’re not sure you can maintain.” Live this advice - if you’re comfortable, you’re not going to see progress.

7) Do it for you. Don’t do it for the gram, the tok, for anybody or anything else. Comparison is the thief of joy.

8) Practice gratitude. Thank your coaches. Thank the refs, even if you don’t like their calls. Thank your body for showing up.

9) Have confidence. Believe that you can do things and surround yourself with people who agree.

10) Listen to advice given by those with more experience than you (self-serving, I know, but still a good idea). You don’t have to make the choices we made, but at least give us a chance - we were Seniors once, too.

Good luck, and see you out there.

- Mrs. Trigoboff

SGA SPONSOR Mr. Anderson

So, I’m supposed to say something inspiring. Congrats on getting through a high school that’s harder than some undergrad programs! Yeah, burnout!!

Look, I can talk all day about how you all are our future leaders and innovators but I’m going to give you a little piece of advice before you go off to college.

Or to build rocket ships, or cyborgs, or whatever it is TJ kids do after gradua-

tion.

Here it is. Here’s the big life altering piece of advice: “R E L A X”. Please, I’m begging you. I know you all were born in the fires of lengthy research projects, molded in all-nighters, and burned into TJ Stars, but there’s more to life. TJ is a bubble. It’s real, but it’s not real life. Real life is outside these walls. I need you to experience it. Join a samba club, shoot a film, explore your passions, talk to people who aren’t like you.

I know some of you may have gone to college because it’s next. It’s just what you do after high school right? It’s just what my family expects of me right?

You may not have given real thought about what you want. And why would you? You can’t legally buy a beer, but

we want you to make life-altering choices? It’s okay to not know. To not know if you’re on the right path, or if it’s the right major, or if that boy is really the love of your life (he’s not).

Our society teaches us that “hurry,” the dogged pursuit of success, is the panacea to our longing. Get the degree in four years, get the bag as fast as possible. We live in a fast-paced, more, more, more world, and where has it gotten us? High rates of mental-health related trauma, and a whole lot of burned out people. I don’t want to sound like some weird meditation guru, but I do want you all to know the world is more than GPAs, school rankings, and social status. Success is subjective.

So, here’s my challenge to you: Relax.

Experience. Be.

tjMEDIA SENIORS STAFF SAYS GOODBYE christina lu, lucas ribeiro, keertana senthilkumar, aarya kumar, eric feng, spencer zheng, miriam antony tjTODAY “Hi! Can we interview you for sharing that with the community. tjTODAY?” It hasn’t been easy: this year, It’s a simple question, but one tjTODAY had a smaller staff than that has marked the beginning of any in recent history. We’ve often the creative process for so many of had a single writer handle an entire our articles. Through the converprint article and spread, on top of sations that followed, Jefferson trying to maintain online coverstudents have given us a gift. You’ve age. And we haven’t been perfect. opened a window into your lives, Blurry photos have been printed, revealed layers of the Jefferson ex- typos have stood uncorrected, and perience that we didn’t even know deadlines have been pushed back existed, and given us the honor of repeatedly. Still—we’re incredibly

proud of the work we’ve done this year, from in-depth coverage of integrity at TJ to an editorial on national merit.

To the graduating class: the window you’ve opened through tjTODAY is only the first chapter.

The incredible passions, goals, and accomplishments we’ve seen throughout these four years will only grow. and we know the world will be better as you go out into it.

ms. harris tjMEDIA Advisor When I was a kid, I moved around every three to four years.

As I got older, I followed that pattern. Four years in high school, four years in college. I started my career at Lewis High School, and that’s where I began my adventures in advising.

Like many of you, I was hesitant to come to TJ. To be honest, working at Jefferson had never occurred to me. But I knew some people here, I knew they were looking for a yearbook adviser, and school

started over an hour later than it did at Lewis. Back then, before I was a morning person, the late start time sealed the deal. Never in a million years did I expect that I would stay in one place for fifteen years.

I always knew I wanted to be a yearbook adviser, but I didn’t realize that I would find so much joy in advising tjTODAY and TJTV as well. I loved teaching English 9 (shout out to the 1,200+ Take the Floor presentations I’ve watched

over the years), but the ever-changing nature of student publications kept me engaged and energized year after year.

Over the last 20 years - 15 of them here with you - I’ve poured everything I have into being your teacher. It’s been an honor and a pleasure, but as you get older, you’ll come to realize change is good, and while it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to TJ, it’s almost like I’m finally graduating, right along with you.

sahishnu hanumansetty tjTV When I was a freshman, I joined the camera. Through homecoming for me to follow. Thank you for TJTV because I was hoping that pep rallies, school events, theater teaching me everything I know learning a few skills about broadshows, and more, I have learned about the camera. cast journalism would make me a that there is a lot more to TJ than Carl Chen and Valerie Kovacs, viral YouTuber. just STEM. who are way cooler than me and Now I’m planning on majoring And now a few thank yous to: will surely bring broadcast to new in filmmaking, and I owe all of it Ms. Harris for being a great heights. to joining TJTV. The people I’ve advisor and a good friend over the James Huang. I never really knew worked with at TJTV are some of past four years of my time here at you, but I know you loved photogthe most hard-working people who TJ. I’m really fortunate to have met raphy. I always think of you when genuinely love what they do. It’s a wonderful and inspiring teacher I take pictures. You will always be because of them that I’m motivated like you. We’ll miss you so much— missed. to pursue my dreams. I will miss TJTV couldn’t have been TJTV From TJTV News, this is Sahishyou all so much. without you. nu Hanumansetty, signing off.

It has been an honor to capture All the alumni before me. You the spirit of this school through guys have been great role models

SENIOR ISSUE 5

kritika kumar, isabel chen, ehlaina mccaskill, johanna lohmus, niyathi vadlapatla, pramodani arulkumar Techniques It’s not just the big things. It’s the little things as well that we’ve gotten to see, hear about, and experience in our time at TJ. It’s the interview quotes where we thought, “Hm, is that school appropriate enough for the yearbook?” It’s the sass we’ve heard from the freshmen, especially the four menaces in the corner, that added color to our classroom experience. It’s the complaints when FCPS didn’t cancel school, but LCPS did and now those kids have to find a way to school.

And that’s why TJ is special, so we made location the theme of our yearbook. We come from many different counties, commuting every day to this 398,833 square foot building to spend seven hours and twenty minutes together. In those gruesome hours, we’ve learned

no one here is boring. There’s no room for NPCs in this eccentric school filled with people pushing the boundaries of academic excellence, creativity, and social norms. Every year has been a little different, some were weird, but all had unique experiences that have bonded us together forever.

Thank you to the freshmen that made this yearbook possible, even though most of you never made a deadline. You’re entertaining though, and we look forward to seeing what you make in future years. Thank you to our eighth period staff for asking random people weird questions all year long.

Thank you to the students who answered those questions and shared your life stories with strangers.

Most importantly, thank you to our advisor, Ms. Harris. She has

been so important in making our award-winning yearbooks what they are and helping to capture the beauty and uniqueness of TJ. After leaving her mark on all of us, she is going out to make it somewhere else. We wish her the best as she embarks on her journey :) (she told us not to say that and remove it from our closing pages, but it’s just oh so fitting). Okay, but for real, it’s been an unforgettable year.

The students there are lucky to be gaining such a wonderful, kind and positive person, and we are blessed to have had her for the past 15 years. We will miss you, and don’t you dare forget us because we will never forget you.

XOXO, Your senior editors <3

elina liu, mira kim, ethan caldwell, elise zhu Threshold A threshold is defined as an entryway or starting point, the junction where familiarity ends and a new journey begins. For this reason, Threshold is an apt name to give to TJ’s long-running and only literary magazine — it is here that many students embark on their lifelong connection with the arts. Whether they seek self-discovery of the inner creative within them, or wish for a place to express

themselves freely, there is a home for everyone here.

This year’s theme was “Fortune”, with the sections in the magazine named after a card in the tarot. TJ often feels as if it would benefit from having frequent favorable winds blow within its halls. From student to student, we hope that this edition of Threshold brings all who read it the utmost luck.

It’s an almost surreal feeling HJ

to be at the end of this voyage, especially after having spent the majority of our high school years working on this magazine. We know without a doubt, though, that another adventure lies in wait for us soon — and when the time comes for us to cross that threshold, we will remember our time together, and how fortunate we are to have been here.

ethan caldwell, kenneth do, vivian gao, nurdin hossain, rachel huang, mariska kassi, srishty muthusekaran, maxx yang Teknos There’s a running joke among the Teknos staff that, despite the 70-ish fascinating pages of research that comprise the journal, no one bothers to read past the front cover. We like to think that everyone is just mesmerized by the stunning art.

Really, it’s because no one wants to read 70 pages of scientific jargon — we get it.

It isn’t just Teknos. Throughout our time at TJ, we’ve realized that

science is so often obscured by writing that is technical, dry, and ultimately inaccessible. But this issue shows why a club like Teknos must exist. In a world of sterile scientific writing, Teknos turns a new page, injecting pieces with voice and clarity. The creation of each journal is driven by high schoolers — students with bold perspectives on science communication. With each edition, we trade passive voice

for passion, and APA for ingenuity.

As you browse this year’s voleDesign Template ume, we do hope you’ll spend time admiring the gorgeous cover (shout out to Mulan!). But we also hope you’ll explore the pieces; consider the innovative research, vibrant design, and fresh choices that defined this edition of Teknos — and made it one of the most memorable experiences of our four years here.

Job # 13621

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Jefferson HS for Science-Tech 03/10/23 02:38 PM

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MOST LIKELY TO

cure cancer Aryan Rajput Lynn Tao

MOST LIKELY TO

win an argument Niki Khare James Henry

PHOTO// L. Ribeiro PHOTO// L. Ribeiro

class of 2023

SUPERLAT MOST LIKELY TO

PHOTO// K. Senthikumar

MOST LIKELY TO

save the planet

be on SNL

Liam Carey Vihaan Mathur

Cyrus Rivers Riley Cooper

biggest bookworm Inaayah Khan Sophia Li PHOTO// L. Ribeiro

PHOTO// A. Khan

best hugs

SENIOR ISSUE 7

best shoulder to cry on

Evelyne Breed Megan Enochs

Laasya Ravipati Nimesh Rudra (not pictured)

PHOTO// K. Senthilkumar

next Picasso Elina Liu Ridhi Pendyala

PHOTO// A. Raval

PHOTO// A. Raval

ATIVES MOST LIKELY TO

win the Olympics

best dancer Sean Kim Kathleen Zhang

Emma Cox Clara Kim

PHOTO// A. Khan

master chefs Lauren Fisher Cindy Peng

PHOTO// L. Ribeiro

PHOTO// A. Khan

sunshine on a cloudy day

next cover of Vogue Grant Frederick Basilio Kritika Khati

Jessica May Niyathi Vadlapatla

PHOTO// L. Ribeiro PHOTO// S. Zheng PHOTO// L. Ribeiro

MOST LIKELY TO

win a Pulitzer Lyat Melese Estan Rodriguez

Sahishnu Hanumansetty Alan Hsu

best photographer

PHOTO// S. Zheng

MOST LIKELY TO

win the Voice

Prisha Ray Cindy Yang

PHOTO// S. Zheng

MOST LIKELY TO

rule Silicon Valley Aditya Vasantharao Vinay Ayala

PHOTO// S. Zheng

SENIOR ISSUE 9

most spirited

next on Broadway

Elisabeth Everhart Rushil Umaretiya

Hannah Frieden Gabriel Ascoli

PHOTO// K. Senthilkumar

PHOTO// K. Senthilkumar

next socrates Raed Mirza Faraz Mirza

bestdressed Ethan Caldwell Nihal Shah

PHOTO// S. Zheng

best laugh Ann Shen Sachin Kumar

PHOTO// K. Senthilkumar

peas in a pod Prasidha Padmanabhan & Vani Gupta

PHOTO// L. Ribeiro

PHOTO// K. Senthilkumar

Akhil Krishnan & Arjun Gupta

PHOTO// K. Senthilkumar

Freshmen PHOTO// A. Martin

PHOTO// A. Martin

PHOTO// A. Martin

n

SENIOR ISSUE 11

PHOTO// A. Martin

PHOTO// A. Martin

Sophomore

res

SENIOR ISSUE 13

PHOTO// Z. Baker

PHOTO// S. Hanumansetty

Juniors 2022

s

SENIOR ISSUE 15

PHOTO// S. Hanumansetty

PHOTO// M. Iyer

PHOTO// M. Iyer

PHOTO// L. Ribeiro

SENIO PHOTO // G

. Sharma

ORS

SENIOR ISSUE 17

PHOTO //

PHOTO //

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Legacy Studi

os

PHOTO //

S. Jun

S. Jun

S. Jun

Alabama Auburn University [1] Lucas Boles

California

California Institute of Technology [2] Miina Anvelt Ellie Chen

Claremont McKenna College [1] Riley Cooper

Harvey Mudd College [1] Luke Wang

Pomona College [1] Mulan Pan

Stanford University [1] Mira Kim

University of California, Berkeley [3] Yashna Hasija Tanish Jain Vihaan Mathur

University of California, Los Angeles [1] Archi Patel

University of California, Santa Barbara [1] Sungjoon Kim

University of California, Irvine [1] Samuel Gwon

District of Columbia

Georgetown University [8] Patrick Bai Ishita Birmani Emery (Christina) Han Nabiha Islam Christina Lu Katie Merrill Shriya Muthukumar Elise Zhu

George Washington University [1] Michael Owoyemi

Delaware

University of Delaware [1]

Florida

University of Central Florida [1] Dante Valencia

University of Florida [1] Megan Enochs

Georgia

Georgia Institute of Technology [3]

Illinois

Connecticut

University of Colorado Boulder [2] Rohan Kompella John Chance McDonald

Yale University [1] Cyrus Rivers

Radha Vinayak Neha Venigalla

Griff Boehnlein Deccan Maniam Richa Misra

Rohan Kompella John Chance McDonald

George Washington University [1] Indiana University [1]

University of Southern California [3]

University of Colorado Boulder [2]

Indiana

Jonluke O’Cain

Kevin Shan Raymond Zeng Eric Zhang

Colorado

Tianhao Chen Hyunjae Chung Hein Htut Lauren Hyde Hamzah Jamal Oviya Jeyaprakash Sumanth Kalluru Grace Ko Harshil Koyyalamudy Daniel Philipov Ram Reddy Andrew Ryu Kaushik Siruvuri Raghav Tirumale Johnathan Tong Akshay Vellore Zachary Yashar

University of Chicago [14] Nikhil Chintalapati Clarissa Ding Winston Gan Mariska Kassi Aidan Li Matthew Li Kisna Matta Simar Narula Sidd Rangavajjula Lucas Ribeiro Pi Rogers Mira Singh Kaiden Wu Sherry Yu

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [18] Abhinav Angirekula

Purdue University [17] Neil Agrawal Arjun Aneja Vinay Ayala Mia Brashear Patrick Gaucher Alan Hsu Aashna Johri Kritika Kumar Pranav Kuruba Ehlaina McCaskill Supreet Mishra Kushal Muthamsetty Rishi Sripathi Sean Su Kaia Wright Davis Zetlan Qirui Zhou

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology [1] Erik Winston

Iowa

Grinnell College [1] Natalie Nardone

Maryland

Johns Hopkins University [4]

Rachel Rozsa

University of Maryland [29] Ewan An Viraj Bala Tanvi Bhave Shivank Bhimavarapu Kevin Chong Richa Gupta Sanya Gupta James Henry Alan Jiang Jayant Kammula Sean Kim Vishal Kotha Anurag Kumar Aarya Kumar Charu Mehta Kavyesh Pasham Sravya Patibandla Keenan Powell Rachit Raval Saloni Shah Aryamann Singh Kevin Sridhar Alexander Tong Sai Vaka Anthony va Rheenen Hemang Vasu Jonathan Vu Maxx Yang Spencer Zheng

Williams College [1] Liam Carey

University of Massachusetts Amherst [1] Ayush Antil

Michigan

Hillsdale College [1] Hayden Stolzenberg

University of Michigan [10] Nicholas Artiedamarin Arnav Kadam Daniel Kim Teja Koduru Jerry Mao Thrisha Sakamuri Shruti Shah Shahzad Sohail Amy Wang Cindy Yang

Missouri

Saint Louis University [1] Charan Sattiraju

Washington University in St. Louis [1] Nandini Shyamala

HamMassachu- North pshire setts Dartmouth College [3] Boston University [2] Varsha Athreya Krisha Pahwa

Clark University [1] Eleanor Rowland

Emerson College [1] Sahishnu Hanumansetty

Harvard University [5] Alvan Arulandu Daphne Feigin Clara Kim Lyat Melese Lynn Tao

Massachusetts Institute of Technology [3] Emma Cox Isabella Zhu Lilian Zhu

Suhani Aggarwal Tarini Basireddy Sameer Gabbita Grace Guan

Northeastern University [1]

St. John’s College [1]

Rebecca Hsieh

Sanjana Anand

Wellesley College [1]

Irene Ko Victoria Wang Edward Zhang

New Jersey Princeton University [4] Gabriel Ascoli Praneeth Bhandaru Ethan Caldwell Athan Zhang

Rutgers University [1] Khushi Garg

New York Barnard College [1] Jessica Ye

Columbia University [1] Audrey Czarnecki

Cornell University [7] Alison Chavez Maggie Gao Becca Jeffries Nikita Khare

SENIOR ISSUE 19 Aryan Rajput Jerry Sheng Claire Wang

New York University [8] Pramodani Arulkumar Jeffrey Chen Sahiti Kota Jordan Lee Kallie Mehta Prisha Ray Anish Susarla Christal Wang

Stony Brook University [1] Grant Frederick Basilio

Pennsylva- Rhode Isnia land Carnegie Mellon University [9] Eric Feng Eric Feng Bryan Hong Nathaniel Kenschaft Joshua Lyon Faraz Mirza Anjali Pillai Yuktha Vemula Jessica Wang

Lafayette College [3]

North Carolina Pennsylvania State William Gutiérrez Ben McDannell Champe Mitchell

Duke University [6]

Taein Kim Satvik Matta Nikhil Pesaladinne Shashwat Rao Aditya Vasantharao Sara Yoon

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill [7] Ebenezer Amare Helen Fu Jaya Gupta Gavin Hatalosky Johanna Lohmus Prasidha Padmanabhan Rushil Umaretiya

Ohio

Case Western Reserve University [6] Ananya Bandaru Sara Elanchezhian Raed Mirza Ann Shen Nikhil Vallikat Christopher Paonessa

Denison University [1] Estan Rodriguez

Oberlin College and Conservatory [1] Audrey Bridges

Ohio State University [2] Ethan Chitturi Shachi Mahajan

Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma [1] Tim Johanson

University [11] Tharun Dilliraj Arjun Gupta Akhil Krishnan Jay Rachakonda Nimesh Rudra Zorawar Sandhu Nihal Shah Ishaan Sharma Nathan Singhvi Aaron Thapa Rohan Zaroo

Temple University [2] Srishty Muthusekaran Laasya Ravipati

University of Pennsylvania [5] Myles Bao Sauman Das Anisha Talreja Angie Zhang Megan Zhang

University of Pittsburgh [12] Farouk Boudjemaa Katelyn Chen Sreekar Gogineni Abhay Gopal Lillani Horcharoen Aaron Huynh Tanmai Kalisipudi Kritika Khati Tiffany Lee Jun Hee Lee Laura Liang Krisha Pahwa Jaylen Pilgrim

Brown University [2]

Savara Shrivastava Jawand Singh Katherine Snelbecker Dhanbee Suh Aakash Vittala

Amit Erraguntla Sophia Li

George Mason University [5]

Texas

Taimoor Babar Alexandra Funk Alexia De Costa Prajakta Gadhamsetty Ladan Hashi

Rice University [2] Achraf Azzaoui Samuel Turner

Texas A&M University [3] William Ludwig Ronel Sahoo Neel Sharma

University of Texas at Austin [4] Ayush Das Mantra Iyer Arnav Jain Harsha Ravella

University of Texas at Dallas [1] Connor Harris

Utah

Brigham Young University [1] Sam Bennion

Vermont

Middlebury College [1] Jonathan Buchholz

Virginia

College of William and Mary [24] Ihsan Amin Miriam Antony Mina Aydin Leah Connell Elisabeth Everhart Lauren Fisher Hannah Frieden Igor Golubkov Naomi Heilen Rachel Huang Yulee Kang Sophia King Lianhao Li Jeffery Lin Mary Loyola-Gomez Maanasa Schwartzkopf Lor Ridgway Keertana Senthilkumar Priya Shan

Shenandoah University [1] Will Hemmens

University of Mary Washington [1] Evelyne Breed

University of Virginia [44] Nithin Avala Rishik Balerao Manav Bharath Karthik Bhargav Noah Cha Niharika Chandna Amy Chen Isabel Chen Jessica Chung Kenneth Do Vivian Feng Vivian Gao Sophia Go Tanishk Govil James Greene Vani Gupta Nurdin Hossain Allen Huo Camila Janada Albert Kang Mikhail Kornilov Brian Lai Jay Lalwani Jean Lavigne du Cadet Derek Li Michael Li Elina Liu Connor McKenzie Ridhi Pendyala Cindy Peng Anika Rekulapelli Prithvi Seri Rachael Sim Austin Song Suraj Vaddi Niyathi Vadlapatla Tommy Williams Caroline Xu Brian Xu Alexander Yao Sophia Yao Justin Yoo Alex Yung

Ethan Zhang

Virginia Commonwealth University [4] Subrat Poudel Isha Satapathy Raheel Shaik Sparsha Srinivasan

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [23] Jerald Barnard Lise Bejtlich Ryan Blymiller Samanvitha Dammalapati Vivian Denny Randy Fu Nidhish Jayapal Mahesh May Jessica Daniel Lian Michael Liang Jonathan Liu Colin McLaughlin Sumanth Moole Trisha Naidu Zac Rader Harini Ramaswamy Jay Rajurkar Saina Shibili Aditi Shukla Arav Singh Conan Ugaz Jay Varakala Ananya Yarlagadda

Washington University of Washington [2] Aditya Kompella Alex Li

Wisconsin University of Wisconsin-Madison [1] Tyler Richard

International Northeastern University London [1] Inaayah Khan

Sorbonne Université [1] Benoy Sen

University of Toronto [2] Wilson Chen Elizabeth Li

Suhani Aggarwal Johns Hopkins University Neil Agrawal Purdue University “No regrets.”

Ebenezer Amare University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “Though we will find countless successes in this world, the credit is not ours; These blessings come from God above.”

Ihsan Amin William & Mary “To pretend, I actually do the thing: I have therefore only pretended to pretend.” - Jacques Derrida Ewan An University of Maryland “ ” Sanjana Anand Northeastern University “It’s times like these, wish I had a time machine” - Sabrina Carpenter Arjun Aneja Purdue University “Be Happy” Abhinav Angirekula University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “I know I’m not good enough. I never will be. That’s no excuse to stop fighting. No matter how much it scares me.”

- Spider-Man Ayush Antil University of Massachusetts Amherst “I learned how to swim while they stuck in the deep end” - Lone Miriam Antony College of William and Mary “we made it out to the other side” cola by Lana Del Rey Miina Anvelt California Institute of Technology “There is a star inside of everyone waiting for its time to shine. Never give up.”

Nicholas Artiedamarin University of Michigan “Babouk” Alvan Arulandu Harvard University “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

Pramodani Arulkumar New York University “when life gives you lemons eat them with the skin.”

Gabriel Ascoli Princeton University “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you’re a fool than to open it and remove all doubt” - Mark Twain Varsha Athreya Boston University “Starbucks warmed Chocolate chip cookies are the best. Highly recommend.”

Nithin Avala University of Virginia Vinay Ayala Purdue University “You brought a backpack, I brought my bags packed.”

Mina Aydin College of William and Mary “Make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid :)” - Taylor Swift Achraf Azzaoui Rice University “Crippling caffeine dependence is the only thing I got out of this school” Taimoor Babar George Mason University “’Oh you graduated?’ No, I decided I was finished.” - Ye Patrick Bai Georgetown University “Let the one who is disuse, one who is daughter restore spring with her each appearance from beneath the earth.”

Viraj Bala University of Maryland “I get butterflies when I think of myself.”

Rishik Balerao University of Virginia “I couldn’t even submit this on time” Ananya Bandaru Case Western Reserve University “live...”

Myles Bao University of Pennsylvania “go to Vihaan Mathur”

Jerald Barnard Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “Growing up is probably the dumbest thing you could do” Grant Frederick Basilio Stony Brook University “We had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing we desired anymoreexcept to make our lives into a work of art.” - Lana Del Rey Tarini Basireddy Johns Hopkins University “I like to set difficult goals for myself; I’ve outlived the queen, now I’ve gotta outlive the king.”

Lise Bejtlich Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “Inappropriate! Inappropriate!”

- Dr. Jonathan Osborne Sam Bennion Brigham Young University “The secret of getting ahead is getting started” Praneeth Bhandaru Princeton University “You gotta know what it feels like to be sad before you can really appreciate feeling happy.”

Manav Bharath The University of Virginia Karthik Bhargav University of Virginia “Pressure makes diamonds” Tanvi Bhave University of Maryland Shivank Bhimavarapu University of Maryland “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”

Ishita Birmani Georgetown University “stay fun and fresh” Ryan Blymiller Virginia Tech “I ain’t Irish, but my money Dublin’” - BLP Kosher Griff Boehnlein University of Southern California Lucas Boles Auburn University “The bird flu? Yeah, they tend to do that.”

Drishika Bose “You know it’s not the same as it was” Farouk Boudjemaa University of Pittsburgh “If you don’t know which port you’re sailing to, how do you know which wind is favorable?”

Mia Brashear Purdue University Evelyne Breed University of Mary Washington “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

- Jeremiah 29:11 Audrey Bridges Oberlin College and Conservatory “I don’t know how I made it, but I did!”

Jonathan Buchholz Middlebury College “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

Ethan Caldwell Princeton University “I am so grateful for the friends I made at TJ. Shoutout to TJSD, Threshnos, and my lunchbox thieves–I’ll always keep trading cards of you in my memory. Love to AN,CM,DP,JK,KD,MK,NS,SB,SH,TN…& AR.” Liam Carey Williams College “The music is so beautiful/It melts away so quickly/And you’re standing in the silence/Standing in the darkness/Thinking about wishing” - The Band’s Visit Noah Cha University of Virginia “Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.” 1 Thessalonians 5:26 (ESV) Niharika Chandna University of Virginia “All the possibilities. No limits, just epiphanies” - Best Day of My Life Alison Chavez Cornell University “enjoy the little things”

SENIOR ISSUE 21 Amy Chen University of Virginia “Go outside, touch grass!”

Leah Connell College of William and Mary “ka-caio ”

Ellie Chen California Institute of Technology “How do I know I’m POWERful? I always WORK over TIME.”

Riley Cooper Claremont McKenna College “Whatever happens, please remember all the laughter”

Isabel Chen University of Virginia “Hannah Montana said nobody’s perfect, but here I am” Jeffrey Chen New York University “As long as the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth exist, everything will be all right.”

Katelyn Chen University of Pittsburgh “i wanna go home” Tianhao Chen University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “The journey is not solely defined by the milestones reached, but by the wisdom gained, the lessons learned, and the transformations experienced while traversing the path.”

Wilson Chen University of Toronto “Signature Ability — Tailwind (1 free, 2 takedown recharge): INSTANTLY propel Jett in the direction she is moving. If Jett is standing still, she will propel forward.”

Nathan Cheng “Pain is temporary, GPA is forever.”

Nikhil Chintalapati University of Chicago Ethan Chitturi Ohio State University “thrive in the chaos” Kevin Chong “Default Fake A Fake B Rotate Go C Flank Through Garage End A” Hyunjae Chung University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “even more clueless than when I first entered high school to be honest” Jessica Chung University of Virginia “are you the real part of a complex number scaled by an arbitrary constant W? cause you’ve got W Re(z) (complex rizz)”

👋

Nadia Costescu “All’s well as ends better!”

- the Gaffer Emma Cox Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, but Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.“ - Master Oogway, Kung Fu Panda Audrey Czarnecki Columbia University in the City of New York “After the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here.” - Walt Disney Samanvitha Dammalapati Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “Sometimes life is like this tunnel.

You can’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you keep moving, you will come to a better place.” - Iroh, Avatar: the Last Airbender Ayush Das University of Texas - Austin “I’m just doing me, and to me, that’s what got me this far.”

- Lil Uzi Vert Sauman Das University of Pennsylvania Alexia De Costa George Mason University “Let us remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence.”

Vivian Denny Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Tharun Dilliraj Penn State University Clarissa Ding University of Chicago “see you at tjstar in fifteen years” Kenneth Do University of Virginia “WE TAKE THOSEEE”

Jorge Duggar “The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”

Randy Fu Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “Life is a movie and your the protagonist”

Sara Elanchezhian Case Western Reserve University “Worrying means you suffer twice :))”

Alexandra Funk George Mason University “Students need 6-8 hours of sleep.”

TJ said, “6-8 = -2”

Megan Enochs University of Florida “I hope someday we’ll sit down together and laugh with each other about these days, these days”

Sameer Gabbita Johns Hopkins University

Amit Erraguntla Brown University Elisabeth Everhart William & Mary “This was the very first page, not where the storyline ends” Daphne Feigin Harvard University “We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.” - Winnie the Pooh Eric Feng Carnegie Mellon University “In the wind and ran, all this pain, doesn’t stay. Dry your tears, do not fear, all our hopes will still remain.”

- Translated from手 Eric Feng Carnegie Mellon University “As we wrap up this chapter of our lives, remember the friends we made and the lessons we learned. But in case you slept through some of those lessons, remember chat.openai. com” Vivian Feng University of Virginia “In the spiritual world, the old physician and the minister—mutual victims as they have been—may, unawares, have found their earthly stock of hatred and antipathy transmuted into golden love.”

Lauren Fisher College of William and Mary “I came, I saw, I conquered” - Pitbull Hannah Frieden William & Mary Helen Fu University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “... it’s going down!”

Prajakta Gadhamsetty George Mason University “I’m delulu and I’ve accepted it” Winston Gan University of Chicago “inconspicuously immerse yourself in the realm of gratification” Maggie Gao Cornell University “When life gives you lemons...”

Vivian Gao University of Virginia “Dont cry because its over. Smile because it happened” Khushi Garg Rutgers University “luck is preparation meeting opportunity, so just keep swimming” - Oprah and Dory Alyssa Gatesman “My takeaway from a half-online high school experience is that if you gaslight yourself into thinking you’re super cool and amazing, it just might become reality.”

Patrick Gaucher Purdue University “Go to B block” - Westside Gunn Sophia Go University of Virginia “came for the sports, stayed for the orchestra <3” Sreekar Gogineni University of Pittsburgh “Anybody got food?”

Igor Golubkov The College of William & Mary “Blasting music so I never get any work done” Abhay Gopal University of Pittsburgh

Tanishk Govil University of Virginia “GPS said it’s my turn”

Ladan Hashi George Mason University “...laugh...”

James Greene University of Virginia “Sometimes, you just have to go full monke”

Yashna Hasija Berkeley University of California “Master has given Dobby a sock.

Dobby is free!”

Grace Guan Johns Hopkins University “LET’S GET THIS BREAD!!

🥰”

Arjun Gupta Penn State University “Move with humility and silence Never exhale unless it’s to say the word ‘checkmate’” Jaya Gupta University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “I swear I don’t recognize half of these people” - Gilmore Girls Richa Gupta University of Maryland “When life gives you lemons, throw them at Sally at 30 m/s and calculate the time in seconds it takes for Sally to realize you’re not a good friend” Sanya Gupta University of Maryland “outro: graduated” Vani Gupta University of Virginia “You’re on your own, kid. Yeah, you can face this” William Gutiérrez Lafayette College “Graduation? That’s a big word for Elmo!”

Samuel Gwon University of California, Irvine “But no matter how you get there or where you end up, human beings have this miraculous gift to make that place home” - Creed Bratton Emery Han Georgetown University Sahishnu Hanumansetty Emerson College “ok, so where’s the donut I was promised?”

Connor Harris University of Texas at Dallas “TJ is like a washing machine and I’m the one who’s stuck.”

Gavin Hatalosky University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “After 4 long grueling years of school, I can finally move on to 8 long grueling years of school.”

Naomi Heilen College of William and Mary “I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable. I am an original.”

Will Hemmens Shenandoah University “If the girls like bad boys, my GPA makes me a chick magnet” James Henry University of Maryland “Kill them with success, bury them with a smile.”

Bryan Hong Carnegie Mellon University “Always shake the ketchup bottle before using it.”

Lillani Horcharoen University of Pittsburgh “It would be unfair to expect other people to be as remarkable as oneself.”

Nurdin Hossain University of Virginia Rebecca Hsieh Wellesley College “if all else fails, marry rich.”

Alan Hsu Purdue University “weather is my passion.”

Hein Htut University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.”

Rachel Huang William & Mary “Senioritis is real. Fun times.”

Allen Huo University of Virginia Aaron Huynh University of Pittsburgh “>^•w•^<”

Lauren Hyde University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “when in doubt, just fake it til you make it til you do.”

Nabiha Islam Georgetown University “I’m not lazy, I’m just saving my energy for Ramadan.”

Mantra Iyer University of Texas at Austin “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”

Tanish Jain Berkeley University of California “Everybody knowing my name now from Coast to Coast” - ️

✈

Arnav Jain University of Texas at Austin “It’s not gambling if you never lose.”

Hamzah Jamal University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “Wealth is in the mind, not the pocket. If that’s the case, then I’ve been paid.”

- A$AP Rocky

Arnav Kadam University of Michigan Tanmai Kalisipudi University of Pittsburgh “if you’re already late, might as well grab a donut.”

Sumanth Kalluru University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “Sometimes the juice is worth the squeeze.” - Kevin Gates Jayant Kammula University of Maryland “High school will end someday.

Take that as a good thing or a bad thing.”

Albert Kang University of Virginia “that’s tuff” Yulee Kang College of William and Mary “valid.”

Mariska Kassi University of Chicago “It’s been fun! I’m running away from my responsibilities, and it feels great.”

Camila Janada University of Virginia “I run, I fast.”

Nathaniel Kenschaft Carnegie Mellon University “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” - Albert Einstein

Nidhish Jayapal Mahesh Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Inaayah Khan Northeastern University London “I think we are stories, all of us.”

Becca Jeffries Cornell University “long story short, i survived.”

Nikita Khare Cornell University “And he wondered if there would ever be a day that came when they wouldn’t have to go through endless distortions just to be understood.” Babel by RF Kuang

Oviya Jeyaprakash University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “Things work out in the end. If it’s not working out right now, then it’s not the end.”

Alan Jiang University of Maryland “Do your best to do better.”

Tim Johanson University of Oklahoma “Go to Sahiti Kota.”

Aashna Johri Purdue University “I heard you die twice, once when they bury you in the grave and the second time is the last time that somebody mentions your name.”Macklemore

Kritika Khati University of Pittsburgh “Leaving my legacy as a cougar behind to become a panther.”

Clara Kim Harvard University “I’m so stoked, I need a toast” Taylor Swift Daniel Kim University of Michigan “don’t follow your dreams. follow my Instagram @daniely1kim”

SENIOR ISSUE 23 Mira Kim Stanford University “There is power in being robbed / & still choosing to dance.” — Amanda Gorman, “School’s Out” Sean Kim University of Maryland “Guys don’t worry, I’ll transfer back after one year” Sungjoon Kim University of California Santa Barbara “It’ll be okay.”

Taein Kim Duke University “Bad decisions make good stories!”

Sophia King College of William and Mary “Takin’ less L’s, makin’ more M’s” - 21 Savage Grace Ko University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “There was another life that I might have had, but I am having this one.”

- Kazuo Ishiguro Irene Ko Dartmouth College “By grace, through faith” Teja Koduru University of Michigan “It is what it is” Rohan Kompella University of Colorado Boulder “Everything’s got to end sometime.

Otherwise, nothing would ever get started.” - The Doctor Aditya Kompella University of Washington “I put the monkey in Curious George” Jonathan Kong “Sometimes, when I think about the people I’ve left behind, I realize I’m a terrible tour guide” Mikhail Kornilov University of Virginia “I like to move it move it” - King Julian Sahiti Kota New York University “Go to Sophia Yao” Vishal Kotha University of Maryland “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

Harshil Koyyalamudy University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “My track record so clean, they couldn’t wait to just bash me” - Jack Harlow

Derek Li University of Virginia “I got too silly ”

William Ludwig Texas A&M University “N/A”

Elizabeth Li University of Toronto “>^..^<”

Joshua Lyon Carnegie Mellon University “Problems are opportunities”

Akhil Krishnan Penn State University “Life’s a coin flip until you make both sides heads.”

Lianhao Li College of William and Mary “Disreputanception.”

Shachi Mahajan Ohio State University “can I interest you in a judgemental comment?”

Kritika Kumar Purdue University “Do it for the plot :)”

Matthew Li University of Chicago “The corgi let me down.”

Anurag Kumar University of Maryland “Writing this aphorism is left as an exercise for the reader.”

Michael Li University of Virginia “It could’ve been worse, but not much.”

Aarya Kumar University of Maryland “Make sure to actually run if you get on the right track.”

Sophia Li Brown University “...love <3”

Pranav Kuruba Purdue University “ “👸👸

👸👸

Brian Lai University of Virginia “Time allows us to grow and reflect, to evolve and study our mistakes.

It allows us to give ourselves the illusion that we are making progress, when we were perfect right from the start.” - \T/ Jay Lalwani University of Virginia “The grass is always greener where the dogs are pooping.”

Jean Lavigne du Cadet University of Virginia “Take it easy.”

Jordan Lee New York University “STAYC girls...”

Jun Hee Lee University of Pittsburgh “I carry sticks with my team like this is lacrosse.”

Tiffany Lee University of Pittsburgh “It was nice while it lasted.”

Aidan Li University of Chicago “It’s not a cheat meal if you’re always bulking.”

Alex Li University of Washington “Thank you to my friends who made my TJ experience so unique.”

😋

Daniel Lian Virginia Polytechnic Institute “Call me the BREADmaker because I DOUGHn’t know what I’m doing.”

Michael Liang Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “Broke my back carrying.”

Laura Liang University of Pittsburgh “Cry when you want, and laugh whenever you can.”

Jeffery Lin William and Mary “The sun in the sky is red, the sun in my heart is steve bannon.”

Elina Liu University of Virginia if (elina = tall) { print “true”; } Jonathan Liu Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Johanna Lohmus University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “Senioritis hit me so hard I couldn’t even think of a senior quote.”

Mary Loyola-Gomez College of William & Mary “Until death, it is all life.”

Christina Lu Georgetown University “yum”

Nicolas Makovnik “When thunderclouds start pouring down, light a fire they can’t put out, carve your name into those shining stars.”

Deccan Maniam University of Southern California “Let’s hanglide out of this loser emporium!” - The Law Jerry Mao University of Michigan “Get off your phone; go to bed.”

Vihaan Mathur University of California, Berkeley “Go to Tim Johanson.”

Kisna Matta University of Chicago Satvik Matta Duke University “It’s not bragging if it’s true.”

Jessica May Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Ehlaina McCaskill Purdue University “The night is young.”

Ben McDannell Lafayette College “I don’t know.”

John Chance McDonald University of Colorado Boulder “Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”

- Benjamin Franklin Connor McKenzie University of Virginia “If you can’t convince them, confuse them.”

Colin McLaughlin Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Charu Mehta University of Maryland, College Park “That was so fetch.”

Kallie Mehta New York University “Don’t ever, for any reason, do anything to anyone, for any reason, ever, no matter what.” - Michael Scott Lyat Melese Harvard University “Wait, there’s more…”

Katie Merrill Georgetown University “Don’t drive like you’re scared of your own car.”

Faraz Mirza Carnegie Mellon University “Don’t hesitate to try harder.”

Raed Mirza Case Western Reserve University “One day, we shall stand up and our backsides will remain attached to our seats.”

Supreet Mishra Purdue University “Everybody wanted to know what I would do if I didn’t graduate... I guess we’ll never know.”

Richa Misra University of Southern California “Where you movin’? I said onto better things.” - Drake Champe Mitchell Lafayette College “CEO of the Champion lifestyle.”

Sumanth Moole Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING.” Kushal Muthamsetty Purdue University Shriya Muthukumar Georgetown University Srishty Muthusekaran Temple University “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” - Bernard M. Baruch Trisha Naidu Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Natalie Nardone Grinnell College “I came for the arts.”

Simar Narula University of Chicago “and so, the adventure begins.”

Jonluke O’Cain University of Delaware “I say, if your knees aren’t green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life.”

- Bill Watterson Michael Owoyemi The George Washington University “I’m the perfect amount of narcissistic; my friends can attest.”

Prasidha Padmanabhan University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill “This was the very first page, not where the story line ends.” - Taylor Swift Krisha Pahwa University of Pittsburgh and Boston University “Can we keep my Legos at home?”

Mulan Pan Pomona College “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” - William Shakespeare, The Tempest Christopher Paonessa Case Western Reserve University Kavyesh Pasham University of Maryland “11:20 AM on September 16th, 2022.”

Archi Patel University of California Los Angeles Sravya Patibandla University of Maryland “hi!”

Ridhi Pendyala University of Virginia “I’m taking pictures in my mind so I can save them for a rainy day.”

Cindy Peng University of Virginia “I’ve never had to use the crying emoji until I came here😭 ” Nikhil Pesaladinne Duke University “cheers!”

Daniel Philipov University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “Patience is a virtue, but waiting sucks.”

Jaylen Pilgrim University of Pittsburgh Anjali Pillai Carnegie Mellon University “In the forest of self-discovery, the path that is hidden and unexplored always has the prettiest flowers.”

Ram Reddy University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars.”

Subrat Poudel Virginia Commonwealth University

Anika Rekulapelli University of Virginia “Come on! Live a little!” - Ferris Bueller

Keenan Powell University of Maryland “They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our Othello bots.”

Lucas Ribeiro University of Chicago “What’s the derivative of a webassign? A web-a-cosine.”

Jay Rachakonda Penn State University “Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.” - Drake

Tyler Richard University of Wisconsin, Madison “These are the times we’ll hold when our memories fade.” - Eden

Zac Rader Virginia Polytechnic Institute “You work hard, I don’t. We are not the same. I am stupid.”

Lor Ridgway College of William and Mary

Aryan Rajput Cornell University Jay Rajurkar Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “it’s a parade inside my city yeahhhh.”

Harini Ramaswamy Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “Off to capture college life on @rinistarcam.”

Sidd Rangavajjula University of Chicago “I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.”

- Sophocles Shashwat Rao Duke University Rachit Raval University of Maryland “They didn’t believe in us, But I know God did.” - DJ Khaled Harsha Ravella University of Texas at Austin “You’ve got to enjoy the little things in life, like blowing bubbles.”

Laasya Ravipati Temple University “It was the end of a decade, but the start of an age.”

- Taylor Swift Prisha Ray New York University

Cyrus Rivers Yale University “Jesters do oft prove prophets.”

Estan Rodriguez Denison University “That is all we are going to do for now. We are just going to take this bird by bird.” - Anne Lamott Pi Rogers University of Chicago “Every mystery ever solved had been a puzzle from the dawn of the human species right up until someone solved it.”

Eleanor Rowland Clark University “I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees!”

Rachel Rozsa St. John’s College “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” - Mahatma Gandhi Nimesh Rudra Pennsylvania State University “If me and a grizzly are in a fight, pray for the grizzly.”

Andrew Ryu University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “There’s always time for the gym.”

Ronel Sahoo Texas A&M University “Don’t be careful, be confident.”

- Tom Cruise Thrisha Sakamuri University of Michigan “no offense but...”

SENIOR ISSUE 25 Zorawar Sandhu Penn State University Isha Satapathy Virginia Commonwealth University “Audentem forsque Venusque iuvat.”

Charan Sattiraju Saint Louis University “Get your money up not your funny up.”

Maanasa Schwartzkopf College of William and Mary Benoy Sen Sorbonne Université Keertana Senthilkumar The College of William and Mary “We can see the flipside / what comes after this try?”

Prithvi Seri University of Virginia Nihal Shah Penn State University “thinking is for tomorrow.”

Saloni Shah University of Maryland “If my grandmother had wheels, she would’ve been a bike.”

Shruti Shah University of Michigan “I’m never gonna look back, no-ooh; these are gonna be the best years of my li-i-i-ife.”

Raheel Shaik Virginia Commonwealth University “All in all, we’re just bricks in the wall.”

Kevin Shan Georgia Institute of Technology Priya Shan William & Mary “everyday above ground is a great day, remember that.” - Pitbull Ishaan Sharma Penn State University “Carpe diem.”

Neel Sharma Texas A&M University “The best path did not have to be quick, as long as it was correct.”

Ann Shen Case Western Reserve University “One of the worst performances of my career and they never doubted it for a second.” - Ferris Bueller

Jerry Sheng Cornell University “High school was fine, it was a walk in the park. Except the park was in flames.”

Saina Shibili Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “Nothing kills like a life you didn’t live.”

Savara Shrivastava William and Mary “I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I’m doing it really, really well.” - Andy Dwyer Aditi Shukla Virginia Tech “Cause there were pages turned.”

Nandini Shyamala Washington University in St. Louis Rachael Sim University of Virginia “celtics in 7.”

Mira Singh University of Chicago “I’ve got some friends, some that I hardly know; But we’ve had some times, I wouldn’t trade for the world.” - Rise Again Jawand Singh College of William and Mary “Nothing is better than something.”

Aryamann Singh University of Maryland “Call me LeBron cuz I fold to Curry.”

Arav Singh Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “You’re welcome.”

Nathan Singhvi Penn State University Kaushik Siruvuri University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “I thought I got over procrastination until I had to pick a senior quote.”

Katherine Snelbecker William and Mary “I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser.”

Shahzad Sohail University of Michigan “Indeed, with every hardship comes ease.”

Austin Song University of Virginia Kevin Sridhar University of Maryland “Life can give you everything except failure, you need to seek failure, and only then can you truly live life.”

Sparsha Srinivasan Virginia Commonwealth University “It was for the plot.”

Rishi Sripathi Purdue University “You just need to believe. You must believe.” - Master Oogway Hayden Stolzenberg Hillsdale College “All roads lead to Rome.”

Sean Su Purdue University “The only difference between genius and insanity is that people will eventually recognize genius, although long after marking them insane.”

Dhanbee Suh College of William and Mary “It’s really the little things that keep you going. And the bigger things remind you why.”

Anish Susarla New York University “It was all part of the plan” - Reverse Pants Susarla Anisha Talreja University of Pennsylvania Lynn Tao Harvard University “I would ask …”

Aaron Thapa Penn State University “Want to conjure confidence? Try dying your hair. Works wonders.”

Raghav Tirumale University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well. Maybe the 5 of spades?”

Johnathan Tong University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “it’s joever.”

Alexander Tong University of Maryland “Do your best and when it doesn’t seem like it’s enough, let fate do the rest.”

Samuel Turner Rice University “This is a world premiere.”

Conan Ugaz Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.”

Rushil Umaretiya University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “Who let him cook?’); DROP TABLE senior_quotes;--” Suraj Vaddi University of Virginia Niyathi Vadlapatla University of Virginia “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!” - Ms. Frizzle Sai Vaka University of Maryland “Are you some type of gaming god?”

- Dr. J to me Dante Valencia University of Central Florida “You know what they say: sticks and stones can damage your vital organs, so always wear body armor.”

Nikhil Vallikat Case Western Reserve University “go to Myles Bao” Anthony van Rheenen University of Maryland “There are many people out there trying, but they can never stop you from balling, my friend.”

Jay Varakala Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “That’s right, I finally uploaded my consciousness into my gaming setup” - Jetstream Sam Aditya Vasantharao Duke University Hemang Vasu University of Maryland

Akshay Vellore University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “College better not be harder than this...”

Yuktha Vemula Carnegie Mellon University “There’s so much that we did wrong and so much that we did right. All things end, but here we are beginning.”

Neha Venigalla Indiana University “Be happy for this moment.

This moment is your life!”

Radha Vinayak George Washington University “We’re almost there & nowhere near it. All that matters is that we’re going!”

- Lorelai Gilmore Aakash Vittala William and Mary “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present.”

Jonathan Vu University of Maryland “finally finished :)” Jessica Wang Carnegie Mellon University “I wrote a better hour onto the page.” -- Ocean Vuong Amy Wang University of Michigan “I came. I slept. I left.”

Claire Wang Cornell University “What did the cow say to the other cow?”

Christal Wang New York University Victoria Wang Dartmouth College “Do it all with love.”

Luke Wang Harvey Mudd College “I still have not regained my sanity... or the lunchbox I lost last year.”

Tommy Williams University of Virginia “Notice when you’re happy and exclaim or murmur or think to yourself, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’” - Kurt Vonnegut Erik Winston Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology “RIP to the proto lab’s 16year no ambulance streak.”

Kaia Wright Purdue University “There’s nothing we can’t do if we work hard, never sleep, and shirk all other responsibilities in our lives” - Leslie Knope Kaiden Wu University of Chicago “It’s ok if you’re not feeling so well, at the end of the day, it’s night.”

Caroline Xu University of Virginia “life is like a box of chocolates” - nom nom nom Brian Xu University of Virginia “I’ve already forgotten most of freshman year.”

Maxx Yang University of Maryland “psst, hey psst, it’s a lot easier to break the rules than you think.”

Cindy Yang University of Michigan “the feminine urge to fail every STEM class.”

Alexander Yao University of Virginia “The only thing you can change is the present.”

Sophia Yao University of Virginia “Go to Nikhil Vallikat.”

Ananya Yarlagadda Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University “new beginnings” - Frank Ocean Zachary Yashar University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign “I finally got my National Merit commencement letter.”

Jessica Ye Barnard College “Hold onto the memories, and they’ll hold on to you.”

Emma Ylagan “...LOL” Justin Yoo University of Virginia “God gives the hardest battles to His strongest soldiers, oh and follow @goons_lift.”

Sara Yoon Duke University “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

Raymond Zeng Georgia Institute of Technology Davis Zetlan Purdue University “3/4 and 6/8 are the same number; covered up by Big Fraction.”

Angie Zhang University of Pennsylvania “Après moi, le déluge” - Louis XV Athan Zhang Princeton University “Anywhere can be paradise as long as you have the will to live” - Yui Ikari, Neon Genesis Evangelion Edward Zhang Dartmouth College “Live without regrets, love your fate.”

Eric Zhang Georgia Institute of Technology “Find happiness in yourself.”

Ethan Zhang University of Virginia “3.”

Megan Zhang University of Pennsylvania “...but I’m tryna get 你号 码.”

Sherry Yu University of Chicago “The goal is not to be right, it is to be wrong in interesting ways.”

Spencer Zheng University of Maryland “When I wrote this, only God and I knew what I was doing. Now, only God knows.”

Alex Yung University of Virginia “forever yung.”

Qirui Zhou Purdue University “It’s always winnable.”

Rohan Zaroo Pennsylvania State University “Life is like a gamble, you’ll never win without risks.”

Elise Zhu Georgetown University “Like mate, stop procrastinating.”

SENIOR ISSUE 27 Isabella Zhu Massachusetts Institute of Technology “Two wrongs don’t make a right...”

Lilian Zhu Massachusetts Institute of Technology “...but two Zhus always do.”

I had an older brother who went here and I was expecting certain things based on his experience, but that obviously turned [out] very different because COVID hit freshman year, and then we went online. For the first time I felt like I didn’t really know what to expect.

Once we got out of COVID in junior year starting we hit the ground running. I really started to trust myself that I could do it, that I could do it through junior year and get through senior year and college, it really made a world of difference.

Because I think that doubt was definitely holding me back.

Once I realized that everybody was on their own path, I realized I’m on my own path too. I’m going to now spend my time understanding what I can do to make my impact on this world or make my dreams a reality rather than focusing on how other people are doing that for themselves. When you spend time focusing on yourself rather than comparing with others, you’re able to hone in on your interests and explore things that you really love.

Senior

PHOTO by Samir Misra REPORTING by Christina Lu

Richa Misra

I think graduation signifies this transition into a time of uncertainty and freedom and independence. That’s something that I’m excited for.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED

a Recap of Richa