FROM MUSTANG TO COLLEGE:  ALL-STAR LARISSA TERAMURA TELLS ALL

Larissa Teramura graduated from Kalaheo High School just last year! As both a hardworking  high school student and tennis athlete, she was able to go to the competitive University of California at Irvine. These are a few of her accomplishments from her High School years:

 Valedictorian

National Merit Commended Scholar

Competed in tennis, cross country, track and field, and swimming

Kalaheo Freshman Athlete of the Year (2019)

Kalaheo Girls Student Athlete of the Year (2022)

OIA Easterns Girls Singles Champion (2019, 2022)

OIA Girls Singles Champion (2022)

State Girls Singles Fourth Place (2022)

OIA Team Cross Country Champions (2018, 2019, 2021)

OIA Easterns Team Cross Country Champion (2018, 2019, 2021)

Ka Leo got a chance to catch up with her on what it is like to transition from high school to college, from teenager to young adult while still being able to balance it all! Larissa is now studying to get into the field of biomedical engineering!  We at Ka Leo hope that this will not only inspire all of you, but help you guys realize that school and extracurriculars are possible to balance. 

We first asked Larissa what it is like to be in college versus highschool. This is what she said, “I would say that college is harder than high school because I’m learning more difficult content, and I have to be more independent. The professors aren’t as available as teachers in high school are, but there are tutors and teaching assistants that I am utilizing so that I am better prepared this quarter”.  

We all know and or have experienced how hard it can be to handle school and an extracurricular activity in highschool, let alone college. This is Larrissa’s experience doing both tennis and school work in college, “I’m handling the workload of being a college student athlete fairly well. I’m able to finish all of my assignments on time and still be committed to the tennis team at the same time. But, I will say I probably didn’t study as much as I should’ve for my midterms and finals, so I’m learning from that and working on studying more this quarter”. 

From her experience, we wanted to know what has shocked her the most throughout her transition. This is what she said, “Something that shocked me about transitioning to college life was how everyone’s schedules and workload could be so different. For example, I’m taking five classes for 19 units and I have class every day, but some people on my team only go to in person class twice a week and were taking 12 units. The good thing about this flexibility though is that everyone can progress at their own pace and succeed in different ways”.

Arguably the most exciting aspect of students going into college is becoming a young adult. No parents to tell you what to do. But are things as fun as they seem? Here’s what Larissa had to say about what it is like to now be a free adult! “Being an independent adult is a big change, it is a little weird at first, but college is a great place to transition into one! I do enjoy grocery shopping for myself, but I have to be more careful about how much I’m spending on luxuries. So, I’m learning new responsibilities as I’m in this transition period from dependent child to independent adult”. 

Overall, we especially wanted to know what advice she had for not only seniors but all students in our campus. She gave us great wisdom by saying, “My advice to Hawaii seniors would be to really utilize all of the help that is available at your university. There are people that can help you succeed, you just have to know where to look. Also, try to stick to a routine. Being independent may make you feel like you can wake up at 2 pm every day, but if you stick to a schedule, it will be easier to get things done. 

Larissa Teramura ended the interview off on a great note with her positive attitude, “All in all, find things you are passionate about and pursue them as best you can!”