Senior Spotlight: Isabel Portner (12-3)
Helena Saven (12-4)
How did you decide to take a gap year? What are your goals?
I’m very excited to take a gap year. I really wanted to do it because I wanted to try to do some things that were non-academic for a while to recharge. I’m not yet sure what I will be doing, but it was approved by my university. My goals will be to grow and learn how to drive. I’d like to learn other life skills I will need in college. I’m also planning on traveling and spending more time with family. I am debating whether I should join Americorps; there are some programs you can do for ten months, but I’m not sure yet because it’s pretty intensive.
What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from your experience in Voices?
Learning to give good feedback with editors. I learned the most when I was a section editor. I learned to be reciprocative to what my team was saying and meet them in the middle.
What is your favorite senior year memory?
I really liked prom, which we just had. I liked the photo booth. The desserts were so good; the key lime pie was immaculate. It felt very fancy and we don’t get that often so it was really cool. It’s definitely my favorite memory, seeing my classmates dressed up.
Photo courtesy of Helena Saven (12-4)
Do you plan to continue playing viola after graduation?
I don’t know. I feel like I might try to join an orchestra, but not too seriously. I like playing in small quartets, which I’ve done several times this year. I’m just going to go with the flow.
Can you talk about your experience leading the Bio Olympiad (BoBa)?
It’s so fun because it’s small but intimate, and everyone’s into biology. It’s cool to see how the members react to certain lessons. We did a strawberry DNA experiment earlier in the year, and I know a lot of kids really enjoyed it because most people don’t think DNA is something you can see and touch. It’s nice to focus on the non-studying stuff and only experiments. It’s the highlight of my week, for the most part. When I started it with Kera McCarthy (12-3) and Annetta Yuwono (12-4), we were looking for a cool acronym for Bio Olympiad. “BoBa” doesn’t exactly fit, but it’s close enough.
What do you plan to study in college?
In college I plan to major in biology, but I am not sure between going onto the PhD or medical route. Within biology, I am most interested in doing infectious disease or environmental research. They’re very important right now.
Would you like to talk about your cat? How did you decide on her name?
Yes! We got a new cat a few months ago. Everyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with cats and have wanted to have one my whole life. So it’s pretty crazy that it’s happened. She’s pretty rambunctious, she’s a little wild. She does things she’s not supposed to do but we forgive her in the end because she’s like a child, kind of like babysitting. It’s been great. I love it so much. I initially called her “Dumpling” and asked a bunch of people if it fit. I was trying to think of a cute Asian-related name. I picked Tofu because it felt right and she’s kind of bouncy like tofu. She jumps on stuff all the time. I think it fits her. She is also the color of tofu, a cream white.
If you were a cat, what cat would you be?
I would be the black cat in Kiki’s Delivery Service who follows around Kiki on a little broom. Being a witch’s cat would be amazing because you could be her familiar and speak to her. My second choice is the cat in Coraline because he knows everything that’s happening and helps her through the journey. In general, a cool black cat. Maybe a stray.
Describe your perfect day, in detail.
It would either be a day inside, spent doing nothing with my family or a few of my close friends. The other option would be to go to the beach and chill. The beach is my favorite place, especially Cape May and Sea Isle City in New Jersey because I go there with both sides of my family every year, so it has a lot of memories. Cape May has the cutest architecture and downtown area.