Senior Spotlight: Lauryn Ciardullo (12-1)
Gavriela Kalish-Schur (10-4)
Tell us about your time at Masterman. What clubs/activities have you done?
Right now I lead Allies and Sweet Sixteen. I’m a board member for UMC on the Dress Code council. [I am] in choir, chamber choir, pep squad, feminist club, there is so many more. I was on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee last year with Ms. Robinson, I also worked on the dress code in the summer of 2020.
What was your favorite class at Masterman? Do you have a favorite memory from that class?
Ms. Neu’s Music Technology class in 10th grade. It was really really fun, we just got to make movies the whole time, me and two of my friends. I loved creating video concepts and watching everyone else’s projects.
What advice would you give your freshman self?
Start college stuff early. Don’t take the SAT in freshman year but start mentally preparing and don’t wait until the last second. Also, really cherish the time you have because it goes by so fast. Hang out with your friends after school and skip that assignment that’s stressing you out.
Photo courtesy of Lauryn Ciardullo (12-1)
What are you looking forward to most about college?
Taking classes I like. I’m going into musical theatre so I don’t really want to take STEM classes anymore. I don’t want to be taking calculus again. So music theory, which I take now, but actually for my career. I know I want to major in musical theatre, but I don’t know where I want to go yet. I want to be both a performer and a director, like our old director Devon who performs at the Walnut Street Theatre and also did the musicals here for a few years. I literally want to be him, I want to direct and choreograph and perform in my free time.
What would you say is your biggest accomplishment?
In October I had a singing competition. I’ve been doing it for the past four years; it's a statewide competition in New Jersey. I had never won anything until this year and I won in the largest division, the high school musical theatre division. I was like ‘Oh my god I got second place!’ It was really exciting.
Is there a quote or a song that defines your life at the moment?
The Wizards of Waverly Place theme song because everything is not what it seems.
What fictional universe would you like to live in and why?
I’m gonna go with Monster High. It's fun, it's a bunch of different people and they are all about accepting our differences, I just think they are really really cool. Also I want to wear their outfits.
What is your favorite holiday? What about a favorite holiday memory?
I really like Christmas. I think my favorite holiday memory was the Halloween dance my freshman year because that was the first time I started engaging with upperclassmen and then we all became really good friends. That doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas though.
What are your plans for winter break?
I don’t have to do college applications and we don’t have to do midterms. Those were the things that I was really going to do. I think I am going to play some games, relax, and start preparing for college auditions because those are coming up for me. I need to fill out an application, and then send a video of a performance (prescreening). Schools will then decide if they want to see me in-person for an audition. I am applying to 18 schools, which is a lot to keep track of. Carnegie Mellon, Temple, there’s more. I also applied to Drexel as an education major because that is sort of a fall back for me. There’s also some conservatories like the Boston Conservatory. It's just too many to remember at this point.
Anything else you would like to add?
Chloe [Doyle] is wonderful, I do enjoy seeing her every morning. Also, as much as I complain about school, I’m really glad to be here and I hope I’ve made a difference in the past four years.