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Photo courtesy of Scarlett Zeleniak (12-4)
What are your plans for the future?
I’m planning on majoring in psychology with a minor in womens’ studies. I want to work in social justice and be a victims’ rights advocate. Right now I’m deciding between two schools: Drexel and University of California Irvine. Probably Drexel, though.
Why are you interested in psychology and womens’ studies?
Philadelphia is a very liberal city and we obviously care about social issues a lot. I was going to protest about budget cuts when I was in the second grade with my mom. That grew into climate change and gun prevention and things like that. Psychology, because I find the human mind so interesting. Especially in students, mental health is not really talked about as much and that’s something I want to explore in college.
What social justice projects have you been involved in?
In 2020 I worked with the former leaders of MFC, Iman and Josie, Ms. Harrison, and the school to bring a lot of issues to light. Getting to talk with Brandon Archer (Class of 2021) on getting to change Masterman policy was really interesting, especially with the group chats that came out. Of course, I’ve gone to a lot of the rallies we had at Masterman. There’ve been a lot of really great people working on dress code and policies for later years.
What is your favorite song you’ve performed in Sweet Sixteen?
There’s the classic Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal,” which is always a favorite. Right now we’re working on “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel, that’s sounding really good.
As a member of the Masterman Feminist Club (MFC), what kind of change do you hope to bring?
More awareness and more information. Even the name “Masterman Feminist Club” has a connotation. When we give our lessons to peer counseling, to 7th and 8th-graders, they immediately think either “I am a boy and so I can’t be a feminist” or “I believe that this term of 'feminism' means you go to rallies and you hate men.” Spreading awareness is important – it’s just gender equality, which a lot of people don’t get. In MFC we’ve been talking about abortion rights and the restrictions that are threatening to overturn Roe v. Wade, especially in the Texas abortion ban. Last year we spent a big portion of our year on Mexico’s civil rights protests for women where they would sit in the hallways of the justice buildings in Mexico City. I had never read anything about that. So it’s important to bring those to light as well.
Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
God, I don’t know because I don’t want to say that I’ll end up somewhere because life is so crazy and that I just can’t expect that. Generally, I want to be in a happy place.
What’s something you do on an everyday basis that you enjoy?
A lot of people say this, but Class of 2022. I feel like I connect with so many people in my grade coming back from the pandemic. There are some of them I dislike. But overall, key word is overall, there are a lot of people that really make my day better even if it’s just seeing them.
What was your favorite memory from being in the musical, Pippin?
The cast this year was so incredibly perfect. In terms of casting, yes. But also connecting with the people I got to be around was really fun. And the new director, Allie.
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