Ava Young, 11

Who is your inspiration? alumnae “Catherine Li and Noor Haideri.”

How do you know them? “I met them both freshman year. Catherine taught me a lot about chemistry and a lot of things about science. And then Noor, she was just a really nice person. She also invited me into her friend group, and they sort of helped me navigate freshman year.”

How do they inspire your life? “Noor is going into pre-med which is something I want to do as well, and I know Catherine has a minor right now in chemistry.”

What’s one quality of theirs you admire? “Just being open-minded. They’re just so open to everything. They’re not judgmental at all. They just flowed with whatever everyone says.”

Noah Everest, 12

Who is your inspiration? “Malcolm X.”

How does he inspire your life? “He has inspired me to be more active in my community and be conscious of continuous inequality in the world.”

Do you want to go into a career that relates? “I would like to go into law and eventually into public politics in order to ensure that everyone is treated equally and fight corruption in global politics.”

What’s one quality of his you admire? “I would like to have the poise he had. In every one of his interviews it’s almost uncanny how well he can handle blatant racism and advocate for his beliefs throughout his life in a radical, yet controlled way.”

Alex Pollom, 9

Who is your inspiration? “I find a lot of inspiration in music, like Dave Grohl. He plays drums for Foo Fighters and Nirvana, and he did a bunch of stuff, but I liked the way he looked at things. One of my favorite quotes from him is ‘if you put your mind to something, you can do it.’”

How do you know them? “I knew about bands like Nirvana and especially Foo Fighters for a really long time, and then I got deeper into music. I learned about the people and themselves, and then I was like ‘Oh man, that’s so cool.’”

How do they inspire your life? “My hobbies relate around [music]. I’m always playing music instrumentally and on Spotify. ”