Senior Spotlight: Ethan Soloway (12-4)
Laura Shin (12-3)
Photo courtesy of Ethan Soloway (12-4)
What are you looking forward to at college? (Ethan is going to UPenn).
I’m looking forward to mainly two things, the first one being meeting new people. At Masterman, we’ve made a lot of really strong friendships over the last eight years, but it can get tiring being around such a small group of people all the time. I’m excited to make new friendships, find people with a lot of similar interests, and start that process all over again. Secondly, I’m excited to get back to enjoying learning. I feel like this past year online, it’s been difficult to learn anything- I might of learned one or two things of note. But college is really a place where you’re supposed to learn and enjoy that, so I’m excited to explore my interests again.
Favorite memory from senior year?
The filming of our Spirit Week lip sync video and also Spirit Week itself. It [video filming] came at a really great time because Covid restrictions were just about loosening up, and we’d been inside for so long and become distant from all of our friends. That whole experience with a great group of seniors and even a few sophomores who joined in and danced with us- it was a lot of fun, it was very well-choreographed and coordinated, and it was really exciting that Blue Team took back the crown for Spirit Week. I hope that next year they’ll continue to do that.
You are a long-time member of the Masterman chess team and talented player in your own right. What are some highlights from your chess journey?
I think the biggest one was when we won 2nd place at chess nationals in ninth grade, that was a lot of fun. We were a good team and we worked well together, and our victory was the culmination of a lot of hard work. But the main reason why I love chess is because of the people: being on the chess team was an intellectual sport, but also a social activity. I’ll definitely miss going to tournaments with my fellow Masterman players.
As a resident boy genius of the senior class, what has it been like co-captaining the Math Club this year?
It’s been fun, obviously different than it would have been in-person. What I’ve enjoyed most is trying to be a champion for math as an enjoyable subject: trying to get more people involved, and taking those people who are involved and trying to spark a passion for math in them. I feel like I want to give back, because I’ve found math to be really enjoyable and interesting, and if someone else can find that too, then that’s a really valuable thing. I’m very lucky to have found something that I have such an interest in during high school- math is definitely something I want to continue studying in college.
If you could give one piece of advice to your freshman self, what would it be?
I would say, focus on your friends. What I’ve learned, especially from 10th grade onward, was that the friends and the memories that I’ve made are probably the most valuable things that I’ll take away from Masterman out of all of my 8 years.
Biggest Masterman pet peeve?
The poor regulation of both heating and cooling, and the fact that some of the rooms are really small. When you get a combination of the two, like a room 213 on a hot day, it’s really rough.
Cats or dogs?
I am actually allergic to both cats and dogs, but I would say dogs because they’re a little bit more outgoing and fun. But in reality, I probably can’t be around either of them for a very long time. Maybe a fish is my animal? I had a pet goldfish named John when I was younger.
If you could be any fictional character for one day, who would you be and why?
Maybe this is dumb, but Snoopy the dog. He has such an amazing imagination and seems like he’s a fun, reliable dog. He’s not like Charlie Brown and always getting into trouble. He’s just a very fun and light-hearted guy and very creative, and I aspire to have those characteristics. I think it’d be interesting to be a dog for a day, too.
What would you like to see change at Masterman?
I think there’s a little bit of a temptation to move away from some of the things that have made Masterman more difficult, but also itself. There are a lot of things that are very stressful, like the way everyone competes throughout middle school, which creates an environment that isn’t good for a lot of students. But just because that exists, doesn’t mean that competition or pushing people to take difficult classes can’t be a good thing. I’ve even felt over these past few years an easing up of school work. But then I feel like I’m learning less or even putting less effort into it. It’s going to be hard, and there’s going to be some classes you’re going to do poorly in, but if you really want to learn, you have to take some risks.