Seniors of CPS: Aanya S.

Interview conducted by Eileen H.

Eileen: Hi Aanya, welcome to your Seniors of CPS interview. 

Aanya: Thank you.

Eileen: We’re gonna start with a rapid-fire round.

Aanya: Okay, let's do it. Okay?

Eileen: Gym Deck or Student Commons?

Aanya: Student Commons.

Eileen: Favorite Trader Joe's snack?

Aanya: The Chili Lime Takis.

Eileen: Yes, thank you!!! Freshman physics or Asian Worlds?

Aanya: Asian Worlds, 100%.

Eileen: Okay! Favorite bathroom at CP–

Aanya: –Hill, Hill!!!

Eileen: [laughs] Okay, so now we're gonna get into some more serious, longer questions. The first one is, what's been your favorite CPS class and why?

Aanya: I think my favorite CPS class is probably Economics. I'm taking it right now. I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did, but Ms. Gumbert is such a fantastic teacher, and I think it's really cool that as she explained it, it's psychology with numbers. You get to think about people, and that's something I'm super interested in – I want to do sociology. I also love the different themes that she chooses, and she's just so good at explaining things and makes class really engaging.

Eileen: Yeah, I agree. I'm also taking Economics! Where do you see yourself in five years?

Aanya: Oh, okay, so in five years, I want to be working as a marketing manager. I don't think I want to go to grad school, but I want to do marketing and media, probably in a sport like Formula One…Marketing and media and Formula One because you get to travel the world.

Eileen: And the fancy cars!

Aanya: Exactly.

Eileen: Next one. What's one of your favorite CPS memories?

Aanya: I think one of my favorite CPS memories is probably freshman year spirit week. I remember being so excited, and I think it was the first time that I really interacted with the whole community and just had such a great time. I love that we got dressed up and, like, had face paint everywhere. I think as freshmen, we were just so excited to be there, and we brought so much energy. And I remember almost winning so many things. And that was really, really fun.

Eileen: Yeah, we definitely brought the hype! Okay, if you could give advice to your freshman yourself, what would it be?

Aanya: I would say, set your expectations for yourself higher than you think. Obviously, don’t do too much – I mean it in like, when I came into freshman year, I just assumed that, you know, College Prep was super hard and it was going to be really, really difficult to do well. And so I was okay with doing not so fantastically, because I just thought it was a function of the transition, but looking back, I know that I was capable of so much more. So I'd say to just push yourself, and also get involved with the community. Everybody is so wonderful and lovely and nice. And people who you aren't friends with, that doesn't mean they don't want to talk to you, and that doesn't mean you can't say hi to them. Like, just say hi to anybody and everybody. And talk to anybody and everybody. You never know who you’ll be friends with or who you're gonna connect with.

Eileen: That makes a lot of sense. If you could say thank you to one room at CPS, what would it be?

Aanya: I would say the Admissions Office. I am so grateful for JZ — he's my advisor, and Evie and Jessica, they've been so amazing and fantastic. Every time I go into that room, they always ask me how I'm doing and offer me candy. And that place has been my home away from home. Any time I'm upset or stressed or even crying, I always know that I can go to the three of them. Like, if I drop my lunch, they're always gonna find something for me. They're probably my biggest support system on campus, and I'm so grateful.

Eileen: I'm so glad you have that! And the coffee bar there is also fantastic. Okay, what's something that not a lot of people know about you?

Aanya: I guess something a lot of people don't know about me is that I'm really into conspiracy theories. I love The Da Vinci Code and any of those movies about real life conspiracy theories that are actually plausible. I’m really into the one about how the moon landing didn't happen – I also think the moon landing didn’t happen. But yeah, that's probably something people don't know about me.

Eileen: That's perfect! All right, thank you so much. And that concludes our interview. 

Aanya: Awesome, thank you!