Features

By Shridavi Raghavan

With just four weeks of school left until graduation, it’s time to shine a spotlight on the Class of 2025 and their journeys beyond Lincoln. 

Lincoln seniors are taking diverse paths—whether it’s Ivy League universities, community colleges, art schools, or the military, their futures are both bright and unique. Among them, Emma Li, Olivia Slagle, Ashen Blumberg, and Khoi Nguyen each have exciting plans ahead, so let’s take a moment to celebrate them! 

Emma Li will attend the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in the fall, where she plans to major in neuroscience.

Li’s motivation for pursuing neuroscience stems from both a deep curiosity about the brain and personal experiences—having family members who have suffered neurological diseases, she is determined to help others facing similar health challenges.

Along with neuroscience, she also is interested in public policy and educational equity.

She chose to attend UPenn because she believes it will be a “springboard to bigger and better opportunities,” whether she ultimately pursues an M.D., delves into research, or combines her passion for neuroscience and public policy and becomes a policy analyst.

“The most valuable thing I learned at Lincoln was how to use the resources around me, like reaching out to counselors and knowing how to find these resources,” Li said.

She enjoyed Becky Gerek’s Precalculus class the most, describing it as “the perfect mix of what [she] knew and didn’t know.”

Although she is nervous about moving across the country to Philadelphia, she expresses, “I’m excited to meet people and enjoy the newness of going to such an unfamiliar place.”

She’s excited to keep letting her curiosity guide her, sharing that she is enthusiastic about “not only just meeting new people, but also exploring new interests, new subjects, and just being open to so many new things.”

As her time at Lincoln comes to a close, she offers some parting advice to current students: “High school really is what you make of it. I hope everyone can enjoy their high school years without stressing too much—just enjoy life as it is right now.”

Olivia Slagle plans to attend City College of San Francisco (CCSF) next year to complete her general education requirements before transferring to a four-year university. 

She is drawn to CCSF for its many advantages—it saves money, allows her to benefit from San Francisco’s higher minimum wage while she works, and gives her the flexibility to explore different opportunities.

“City is a better way for me to explore different majors with more security,” Slagle shares.

Although unsure about what her major will be, her passion for writing, art, music, and visual components are guiding her toward film––a field that blends all of the creative elements she enjoys.

Her creative spark grew through a variety of classes she took at Lincoln High School. She enjoyed hands-on work in Dan Stingle’s Ceramics class, exploring journalism in Sara Falls’s Writing for Publication course, and gained a deeper understanding of history and grew more comfortable stepping outside her comfort zone in Leon Sultan’s U.S. History class.

“I think film is intimidating because anything that’s creative-based seems so financially unstable, but I also want to make sure that I’m not limiting myself out of fear,” she expresses.

Reflecting on her time at Lincoln, Slagle says the most valuable thing she learned was to set realistic expectations for herself. 

“I learned how to manage my time effectively according to my own needs and capabilities while also learning how to balance a social life,” she says.

As graduation approaches, she adds, “I will miss the fun moments I had when I was with people who are putting in the same effort as me—and the sense of community we built together.”

Ashen Blumberg will be attending the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, New York, where she will pursue a Fine Arts degree, with a focus on 2-D and traditional animation.

Blumberg has dreamed of directing a television animation since she was six years old. Growing up in a lower-income family living in the Tenderloin, she experienced severe bullying because of her socioeconomic status.

She credits cartoons with helping her through her struggles as a child, stating, “Cartoons were the safe space for me to be able to see myself.”

Now she hopes to create this same safe environment for kids today by increasing visibility of diverse identities in animation and cartoons through directing her own television animated series in the future.

She expresses, “I want kids to be able to see another queer person on the screen and to give other people the feeling of confidence I felt after seeing myself on the television through cartoons.”

Filled with diverse perspectives and alumni whose humble beginnings resonate with Blumberg’s own, the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan felt like the perfect school for her.

At Lincoln, Blumberg found inspiration in Falls’s AP Literature and Composition course, stating, “At a time like this, being able to analyze the fiction around us is more important than ever. Stories are outlets to how we as humans perceive the world.”

She draws parallels between literature and art, in the context of our world’s political climate, expressing, “Literature is a form of policy. Art is a form of activism.”

The theater community at Lincoln has been a pillar of support for her, helping her develop her storytelling and leadership skills—most notably through her recent role in directing the Student 1 Act Play, “Sophia and the Fool.”

She hopes this project will resonate with others: “I’m not alone in my struggles, and I want others to know that they’re not alone in their struggles; they can make a difference too.”

Khoi Nguyen will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall as a U.S. Army ROTC National Scholarship recipient. He plans to study neuroscience and train during college to become a military officer after he graduates.

Nguyen pursued this military scholarship to lessen the financial burden of paying for college on his family and decrease his dependence on them. 

He also feels strongly about serving his country, sharing his motivation: “During the offensive of the Vietnam War, my grandmother was rescued by American soldiers who gave her food, shelter, and water. That really inspired me to join the army because I want to rescue people.”

As for his interest in neuroscience, Nguyen hopes to study neurodegenerative diseases with the goal of finding a cure to down syndrome to spare others the hardships his cousin experiences.

In his aspirations to pursue the military, the Peace Corps, and scientific research, Nguyen says, “My parents always wanted me to go into a lucrative career, but I think I’m wired differently because everything I want to do involved making a positive impact on the world—not for financial reward, but for moral or spiritual reward.”

He expresses overwhelming excitement about starting the next phase of his life, looking forward to graduation and his summer plans, which include a trip to Los Angeles and Vietnam, as well as internships at Kaiser and NASA.

Reflecting on his time at Lincoln, Nguyen shares, “The most valuable thing I learned in my four years was that it’s impossible to do a lot of things alone, and you need to know how to work with others if you’re going to get anywhere in life. This holds true for all of the things I’ve done—whether it was running ASB as the Senior Class President or the Lincoln Log as an Editor-in-Chief.”

The stories of these students illustrate the range of aspirations and future plans that make up the senior class. As they prepare for the unique paths that lie ahead, they reflect on the supportive community and positive experiences they’ve had at Lincoln. Congratulations to the Class of 2025!

By  Haley Ng

At the start of the 2025 year, Dawn Rege, Lincoln’s Science Department chair and Marine Biology and Biology teacher, was at the start of her sabbatical: a period of leave, usually paid, to pursue personal or educational goals. Teachers who apply for a sabbatical tend to know a year in advance. 

The purpose of Rege’s sabbatical is furthering her knowledge in the field of gardening, according to Neil Matsui, an AP Environmental Science and Biology teacher at Lincoln and interior Science Department chair for Rege. In view of the fact that she teaches a couple of Biology courses, she plans on using the gardens outside of the New Building as part of the curriculum. 

Rege declined the opportunity to speak to the “Lincoln Log.”

While a teacher is on a sabbatical, the district is supposed to find a qualified substitute that can teach that teacher’s subjects while they are away. However, finding a teacher to replace Rege’s courses for only a semester has been very challenging. 

Sharimar Balisi, Lincoln’s principal, expresses the struggle, “A teacher puts in a sabbatical and [the district] knows … [Rege] put it for springtime. Prior to that, we were trying to interview someone to take half the year. [It’s] very difficult to find a certificated, credentialed teacher for just a half a year assignment. They won’t sometimes take it.”

For this reason, Rege’s classes have become asynchronous with a long-term substitute. Unlike the usual short-term sub that can stay no longer than 30 days, a long-term sub can stay past that time period with a contract. 

Rege had planned out online assignments beforehand to assign to students to keep them on track of the class curriculum. She has been assigning work and grading all of it by the end of each grading period through Google Classroom, then submitting those grades through Synergy. Doing all of this work, however, is completely voluntary because she is on sabbatical.

“She knows the importance of continuity and making sure students get some work,” Balisi affirms as she explains Rege’s experience in the teaching profession. 

Ventura Van-Zandt, a senior in Rege’s Marine Biology class, expresses her feelings toward the asynchronous learning, “It’s fine, due to assignments only being online, and you can kind of do them whenever you want, but at the same time it’s hard to actually do them due to someone not being there and, like, teaching you, and telling you to actually do your assignments because you could get easily distracted and focus on other things.” 

Regarding having a sub in the class, Van-Zandt says, “And just coming to class in general, the fact that we don’t have a teacher, and we have a sub, like, class seems less important… so then we might not be as efficient as if she [was] there.”

Balisi also explains that besides Rege, other teachers are also on sabbatical this semester. For instance, Arisa Hiroi, a Japanese teacher at Lincoln, is on a whole-year sabbatical  to advance the AP Japanese program. Luckily, the district had gotten a qualified Japanese teacher to teach the class for the time being. 

Teachers on sabbatical this semester, including Rege and Hiroi, will return in the 2025-2026 school year.

By  Mia De Guzman

To familiarize peers with the learning differences of students at Lincoln High School, Christine Eng, the school’s English and core teacher, promoted an idea with Brigid OBrien and David Maske, Lincoln’s Special Education teachers, to further open the doors of inclusivity for students with a different learning curve and skill set.

Planning for the collaboration started during August, and the onset of the partnership began within the timeline of September to October of 2024. Sessions between the students take place every Monday during their seventh period, taking their time to know each other and bond. Different activities are put together and implemented to create a connection and experience between the students, such as Jenga, Go Fish, or watching movies together. Students are paired to form a connection and avoid overwhelming the special education student. 

The partnership provides exposure to the scene for the teacher academy students who will work with kids in the future. It creates inclusivity in their environment. 

Despite the fun sessions happening every week, challenges occur during the program, such as the limited number of students, along with having to support non-verbal or independent students who may not be ready, or willing to engage in social activities,  “You want to include everyone, but you also want to respect their boundaries,” Eng said. “Some students prefer to stay back, and that’s okay. We adjust based on what feels right for the student.” 

While these obstacles have happened, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, shared by OBrien, “My kids look forward to each session every time—asking ‘where’s my powerpal?’ which creates that fulfillment for the teachers and students.” 

As the program continues to receive recognition and successful outcomes, the teachers still plan to keep the program small but meaningful, preserving the intimacy of the connection between the students, “We don’t want to mess with a good thing,” Eng said. “We want to keep it going and keep making it better.” And even for those who choose different career paths, these lessons [from the program] in compassion and inclusion will stay with them. 

By  Zoë Hsu Doo

At the end of every school year, Business Academy students have their knowledge tested through the tremendous task of organizing their own pop-up shop.

Typically, a pop-up shop is a temporary retail space that operates for a limited amount of time. In this case, the pop-up acts as an assignment, created with the purpose of providing opportunities for students to learn how to exercise entrepreneurial abilities with an emphasis on pitch, money management, and sales skills.

Juniors in the academy must create a product, market it, and sell it to consumers. From soaps to Rice Krispie treats, they advertised a diverse range of goods this year.

“Every team approaches their project differently, how they distribute responsibilities, how they choose to set boundaries,” says Vicky Lee, the Business Academy teacher.

Starting in November and spanning over the course of the next three to four months, each team is tasked with creating and proposing two product ideas. These products had to be homemade by the students and not wrapped in plastic. Once their proposal is approved by Lee, students are required to research sourcing materials and cost per item. Finally, the groups propose their fully researched business plan to the bank lender, Lee, to apply for a loan.

Each group is given $25.00 per person, from the Business Academy funds, to start any business in a group of four. Phase two of this project is the wholesale-to-retail portion. Students are required to pick a product, create it, and sell it. Every deadline or pop-up shop missed adds interest to the loan that needs to be paid back at the end of this assignment. Similar to a real business model, all sales, and their purpose are recorded for the final income statement.

This year, the pop-up was on March 26th and April 7th, 9th, 23rd, and 28th, during lunch, advisory, and after school in room NB21B. Students, staff, and parents were encouraged to support the vendors. 

Business Academy's pop-up shop is just one of their cumulative assessments that put their abilities to the test. Through exercises like the pop-up, students are required to use their knowledge and skills acquired through academies and apply them to real-world scenarios.

“The product we’re offering at our pop-up shop is customized leather lanyards. We came up with this idea because we wanted to create something cute and convenient that you could bring along with you everywhere,” said Renee Chen, junior and two-year business academy student.

To execute their product, new skills need to be acquired. Chen and her group mates learned how to use Glowforge, a laser printer. All the brown leather lanyards are embossed with custom designs to the consumer’s request.

“Not everyone will like your product, so put your focus on the customers who do.” adds Karina Chan, a two-year business academy student and in the same group as Chen.

From product designs to ordering the wrong-sized materials throughout the preparation process, Chen’s group faced numerous challenges.

“It started out pretty rough, especially since we didn’t know what to do,…We overcame this by researching, spending time watching videos, and even brought in someone to help us get started on creating this.” Chen remarks.

Chen’s group overcame certain issues through research videos, new organizational techniques, and even consulting an outside reference. Chen’s group took the route of non-perishable items; however, no limitations were placed on what groups could or could not sell. 

“We decided to sell soap because we were trying to target older individuals, and we couldn’t think of another idea,” said Daniel Law, a junior and two-year business academy student.

Despite difficulties finding everyone’s availabilities and packaging the soap, the pop-up experience further impassioned Law to pursue the business field and learn from others. 

“I learned that it takes a lot of marketing and being a good salesman to sell the soap,” Law reflects.

As in real life, student’s perspectives shift after experiencing the reality of business. “My intention of business has changed, but I do believe that business has taught me skills that I would not have learned or gained from any other class. I find business a very interesting topic and major, but I don't think I will pursue business after high school. However, it is an amazing experience, and I have gained so much from this class.” Chen says. 

However, the common thread between thoughts about the pop-up shop students is the appreciation of the purpose and skills taught by real-life assignments. 

“Our whole responsibility is to have kids ready and prepared to walk out these doors…being able to practice in an actual simulation or an activity gives them the skills to really hone in on,” says Lee.