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Humans of CPS: Garrett P, Gabriel M, Matthew P, Julian E, Ava K, and Mason S


This week, your Humans of CPS Team interviewed six lovely seniors— Garrett, Gabriel, Matthew, Julian, Ava, and Mason— for our twelfth week of Seniors of CPS interviews. Some were interviewed in sunny living rooms, others in quiet bedrooms, or even at school! These interviews include responses to various questions designed to help you get to know our seniors a bit better and to give you some insight into their memories from the past four years at College Prep. We hope you enjoy!



Q: What is something unique about you/a fun fact that your classmates might not know?


Garrett: I think… I played with Legos until I was in like seventh or eighth grade— I would have boxes of them underneath my bed. I don’t anymore, but I feel like I went a little bit longer than most people do. I don’t know, I’m a Lego enjoyer. You know, sometimes I’ll pop out a set and I’ll be like, this is fun.


Gabriel: I suppose a bunch of people would actually know this, but I really like working with kids— especially younger kids. I was a camp counselor a couple summers ago, at Cal Youth Camps for like 4-6 year olds, and I think I want to do that again this summer. It was just a super fun, rewarding experience for me. I want to go into medicine— I know, I’m thinking way too far ahead right now— and I think I might want to go into family medicine, or something where I work with kids. That could change, but I really enjoy hanging out with kids, being with kids...yeah.


Matthew: I have a private pilot’s license— people probably don’t really know that.


Julian: Well, I am a little bit of an oversharer, like I trend towards oversharing. I think most people know I have a twin. I don’t know, I was about to move to Texas in the fifth grade for a while. My mom got a job in Texas. She got promoted and that moved her to Texas, so there’s this part of me, I feel a little bit of an affinity for Texas, like I have a cowboy hat actually and I’ll wear it unironically. I feel a little bit Texas, but I never actually lived there.


Ava: I guess one thing that people usually think is kind of interesting is that I have synesthesia, which is when words and text and music all have different colors and textures in my mind; people often think that’s kind of cool!


Mason: This is kind of a random fact, but I’m a big fan of Coen Brothers Movies. They’re two brothers who are joint directors— The Big Lebowski and No Country for Old Men are some of my all-time favorite movies. I like a lot of their movies, and I’ve probably seen most of them. Raising Arizona is also really good!



Q: What is one word you would use to describe your four years at College Prep?


Garrett: I think rollercoaster. That’s one word, right? I mean, it’s two, but we’ll say it’s one.


Gabriel: I think it’s going to have to be a tie between enriching and transformative— I really can’t pick right now. Enriching, just because obviously CPS is so incredible with their academics; I’ve just gotten such a good education and I really appreciate that. But also enriching in the sense that I’ve made so many friends, and it’s helped me through a lot of stuff at CPS. I think everyone here is very sociable, and friendly, and it really helps with the vibes— we have great vibes here. And I would say transformative, because looking back at little baby freshman me, I kinda want to cringe a little bit, because I was such a different person coming into CPS from middle school. I’ve definitely gotten a lot more confident in myself, and in terms of just moving through my life; CPS has been a huge part in developing that part. I think I’ve figured out a bit more about who I am, which is nice. Yeah, transformative— I’m definitely a different person now, and I appreciate that. My god, that was a long answer! *laughs*


Matthew: I guess… the independence I got going here was big. You know, just growing up, being able to drive on my own, and head over to school, and hang out with everyone here. Yeah, probably independence, maybe opportunity. It was also just fun.


Julian: This is a good question. All over the place? I don’t know. I think my experience at CPS has been pretty school focused, I mean I didn’t get to play sports at CPS because I played ultimate frisbee and CPS didn’t have a team. I guess really stimulating, like coming to class was always fun and I never had trouble focusing in class. So yeah, I guess stimulating. There were always so many opportunities around me and people doing such cool things.


Ava: I don’t know… it is hard to pick just one word. There have been a lot of ups and downs, and I’ve definitely changed— so maybe change. That’s kind of an all-encompassing good one.


Mason: I’d say either understanding or becoming— like understanding myself better, or becoming who I am now.



Q: How would you describe your four years at College Prep and the people that you spent those four years with?


Garrett: I’d say it’s been a really good experience. It’s not that often that you get to be around so many genuinely smart people. That was a little bit of a shock for me— like, I expected it, but genuinely I think for everyone on campus— if I wanted to have an in-depth discussion about something, and they knew about it, we could have a really good discussion. I think that speaks to everyone here, especially because in the context of the community, I always feel like I have a bit more trouble than other people, but at the same time— to be intellectually challenged by so many people is really nice. It creates a really good learning environment for me, and I’ve really enjoyed it.


Gabriel: I think looking at the four years at a whole— it was incredible. I loved almost every moment of CPS, you know, because there’s been like finals week, where I’m just like, “oh my god, I can’t believe how much work I have!” But honestly overall it’s been so wonderful. I’ve made so many new friends that I very much hope I can keep in touch with, now that I’m being shipped off to college, and I think this is everyone’s go-to answer, but I really appreciate the community here at CPS. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen— everyone here is so wonderful and fabulous, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know so many people.


Matthew: I had a great time at CPS, with the people here— the teachers, the people in my grade, people in the tennis team, and all that. So I would just describe it as fun; challenging at times, but still fun.


Julian: I mean, my time at CPS was pretty fun. Definitely upward trajectory. I think I worked pretty hard freshman and sophomore year and have had more fun these past couple years. My time at CPS was such a privilege. Throughout the whole experience it was like, ‘wow, I get to do this and I get to be around these people.’ The people at CPS are very special and very kind. I think everyone at CPS is a person who will listen to you and hear you yabber about something. I think it’s felt almost like a home— I’ve felt very comfortable at CPS.


Ava: Maybe tired? I feel like we’re all pretty consistently just tired— sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way— but yeah, tired.


Mason: Similar to the word I chose, I think I’ve learned a lot about my own interests, what I want to do, where I want to go, who I want to be in the future. Getting to meet a bunch of different people with unique perspectives and identities has really enriched my life. I’ve gotten to experience this close bond with so many people for four years, so I would say, yeah— it’s been great.


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