Senior Spotlight: Will Taylor (12-4)
Helena Saven (12-4)
How are your siblings?
They’re great. I’m the youngest of four siblings. One is out of college working as a therapist in New York City, another is at West Chester studying something dumb like communications. The other is studying sociology at Sarah Lawrence college, which is great because I’m interested in Sarah Lawrence so I can visit her and look at the campus.
Why did you start the Harry Potter Club?
In ninth grade, both Ms. Elana and I were at a wedding and after the ceremony we started talking about Masterman. She said she started a Harry Potter club a few years ago and had been trying to get it running again.” And I was like, “that’s great, I was also thinking about making a club. I love Harry Potter.” So we made it together. I like it better this year because now I have more creative liberty. This year, I started the Harry Potter Club because of the situation in the cafeteria where we had to sit on the same side of the bench and we could hardly talk to each other. It was so we could have a place to relax and hang out.
Photo courtesy of Helena Saven (12-4)
What are your goals for the rest of senior year?
I don’t care too much about grades anymore. I did okay in the first quarter. I’m going to participate in spirit week, I’ll go to the dances, and I'm gonna try to have a good time at prom. I just want to have fun because I’m probably going to leave Philly and I want to get to know the city better. I want to get to know new people at Masterman.
What is your favorite place to hang out in the city?
There was this pizzeria near my house that closed down. It was known as Nona’s Pizzerias and it had a pool table and we would watch the Phillies and get pizza. Hayden Gold brought me to the Fitler Club once, which has a tiny little basketball machine and bowling and pool. I’ve only been there once but that’s probably my favorite.
You were in the news last year. Have you been continuing with Need a Net?
We aren’t getting as many commissions/suggestions because we did so many when it first started. Even so, every other weekend we’re putting up nets. It started because my dad drives on Germantown Ave and Erie to get to work; he works at Saint Christopher’s Hospital for Children in North Philly. Every day he would pass courts that either had broken nets or none at all. He’s been a basketball player all his life, so he knows how terrible it is to play on a hoop with no net. This was the way he wanted to give back to his community and it turned into something big. We got around 6000 dollars in donations, so we bought a ladder and new nets and hopefully soon we’ll be fixing rims because they’re always crooked. It’s great community service and then we get to play on the courts afterwards.
Describe, with as much detail as possible, what your life will be like in ten years.
I’ll be living in New York City in Brooklyn. I’ll be studying for something after college, either med school or grad school, pre law or something. I’ll still interact with my parents and my sister a lot and I won’t have a car anymore so I'll take the train down to Philly to see them. Maybe I'll be in a healthy relationship by then, who knows. My mom said if I ever move to New York she’s gonna move with me because she was born there and that’s her favorite place on Earth. But I don't want to live with my mom.
What does the perfect day look like?
It’s my eighteenth birthday, July 31, and it’s not too hot, in the high 70s. I go to the airport and I rent a muscle car, a Dodge Challenger. And I drive with my sisters to Asbury Park, New Jersey, which is my favorite beach in the world. We walk around on the beach, maybe I will bring my dog. We come back and eat chicken stir fry for dinner and have a cake from The Frosted Fox Cake Shop and then I’m in bed by 10 o’clock.
Who would you invite to Thanksgiving dinner (living or dead)?
George Harrison, Joe Strummer of The Clash, Robert Pattinson, and my sister Camille. She would have so much fun with all the dead people.
Do you prefer watching the clouds or stars?
The stars.