Senior Spotlight: Aylin Ergin (12-1)
Laura Shin (12-3)
What are you looking forward to at college? (Aylin is going to UPenn).
I think I’m mostly looking forward to meeting new people and having new experiences. We’ve all been together for the past seven or eight years and while I’m thankful for all the memories we’ve created, I’m also looking forward to the next chapter.
Favorite memory from senior year?
Probably our “prom” or the yearbook signing. It was so nice seeing everyone and spending a few hours together before we all graduate.
You’re an important part of volleyball at Masterman. Any special moments from being on the team?
I remember I was so nervous when I first joined the varsity team since I was the only tenth grader and knew like 3 people. It was intimidating at first but the team welcomed me and by the end of the season I felt that we had really bonded on and off the court. Also, huge shoutout to Ms. Jones for making coming to volleyball practice the best part of my day. She has really made an impact on all of us, and obviously the Coach Jones Fan Club wouldn’t exist without her!
As the co-leader of Science Olympiad at Masterman, what was it like to run your club during the pandemic?
Photo courtesy of Aylin Ergin (12-1)
It was a little weird and unorganized at first. We had weekly zoom meetings where we would, for the most part, just give a few announcements and then let people get into breakout rooms where they would study for their events for the next competition we had. I think it was hard for people to collaborate because everyone has different events and they don’t always overlap and it’s not easy trying to work together on Zoom. Going to the competitions was also a bit of a learning curve since the tests were online and something would always go wrong with the software. Although it probably wasn’t our most memorable season, I think what matters most is that we still tried our best despite the unfortunate circumstances.
If you could give one piece of advice to your freshman self, what would it be?
Probably to try more things, be more involved, and not worry about my grades as much. I remember I didn’t really go out of my comfort zone freshman year and I wish that I had tried different activities and extracurriculars to really figure out what works best for me. You never know if you’re good at something until you give it a shot.
Biggest Masterman pet peeve?
Definitely people walking slowly and blocking the path in the halls and on the stairs. I’m usually always in a rush to get somewhere and our building is way too small and overcrowded.
Cats or dogs?
I’m gonna be lame and say both.
If you could be any fictional character for one day, who would you be and why?
Spiderman...because who wouldn’t?
What would you like to see change at Masterman?
Please have wider stairs and halls so people can get by. On a more realistic note, I always wished we had a more flexible schedule. Basically, you only get to start choosing your classes in junior year, and I feel like other schools give you more options and a wider range of subjects to explore. I also wish we had an adulting class, like teaching us how to file taxes and investing or something that would prepare us for the real world. I hope that future classes get to have these opportunities.