Senior Spotlight: Olivia Do (12-1)
Gavriela Kalish-Schur (10-4)
Photo courtesy of Olivia Do (12-1)
Tell us a bit about your high school experience at Masterman. What clubs/activities have you done?
I’ve done volleyball and ACA since freshman year, I did badminton freshman year, I did debate in tenth and eleventh grade, I did Voices last year when it was virtual, and I did ASL (American Sign Language) as an enrichment. I’m also a manager for boys’ volleyball.
What is your favorite volleyball memory?
Freshman year, during preseason/summer there was this spinny office chair in the gym by the desk. We would put people in the chair and have two people run really fast and push them, sending them rolling across the entire gym at full speed until they crashed into the wall on the other side. We would waste time doing various non-constructive things in those weeks before school started and it was just so much fun.
What is your favorite class? Favorite memory from that class?
I hate picking favorites because there are many classes I’ve enjoyed, but if I had to choose one, I’d say English in 9th grade with Ms. Hoskins. I just remember having a lot of fun discussing books and trying to find the deeper meaning in everything. She had us do symposiums, and everyone would be super stressed. We would all try to jump in and say something deep, and act like we knew what we were talking about to get participation points.
If you could add one class to the curriculum at Masterman, what would it be?
AP Psych. I know some people who are self-studying for AP Psych because they like that topic and it's not taught here. I think if it was taught here a lot of people would be really interested.
What will you miss most about Masterman?
Officer Taylor. In the mornings when he gives me a high five, and he says ‘Livvy Liv is in the house’.
What are you looking forward to most at college?
Just having new experiences, like studying abroad or living on my own. Also, getting outside the Masterman bubble; most of us have been here for eight years, and it’s just exciting to leave and start the next chapter of our lives.
Do you know what you want to be when you grow up, or what you want to major in college?
Political science, but I’m still generally undecided. I definitely do not know what I want to be. I used to want to be a lawyer in ninth grade, but that’s changed. I could honestly see myself going in different directions, like business, medicine, education, or law school after undergrad. Sometimes I see myself as a journalist coming into NBC every morning and other times as a doctor in a hospital. And sometimes I see myself as a businesswoman or a CEO. All I know is that I really want to love what I do and to study something that excites me.
What is your best study trick?
Start early, but do most of the studying the night before so that it’s fresh in your mind the next day. Also, whenever I’m genuinely interested in the topic, studying it is much easier. So try to enjoy studying.
What’s on your bucket list?
To go to bed at a reasonable time, consistently.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Barcelona, Spain, just because it seems really cool, and I could speak Spanish there and apply my skills to real-life situations. I’d like to see how I’d fare in a foreign Spanish-speaking city.