Ankhil Enkhbayar

Senior Ankhil Enkhbayar initially thought she’d be pursuing a STEM degree, even though she has always been drawn to design and art. But after attending a three-week fashion program last summer at Mod’Art fashion school in Paris, she solidified her dreams to pursue fashion.

“It opened my horizons to something that I could actually see myself doing in the future,” Ankhil said. “I’ve never spent so much energy on something I’m genuinely passionate about.”

The program exposed Ankhil to the behind-the-scenes of the fashion industry.

“We were in Paris, where the industry has really expanded,” Ankhil said. “I was really lucky to be surrounded by so much history. We went through the whole design process. By the end, I also did a mock runway, with all of the items we made.”

Though she originally planned to attend Parsons Paris — a division of The New School in New York — Ankhil has since shifted course. She will start her college journey at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she’ll major in graphic design and minor in business. She then plans to transfer to the Fashion Institute of Technology or the Parsons New York City campus.

“My biggest cheerleader was probably my older brother,” Ankil said. “I told him that even if I got into the Mod’Art program, I probably wouldn’t be able to go, because I didn’t know if my parents were on board with it. He told me that I should extend myself everywhere in high school.”

By combining business, design, and fashion, Ankhil is open to pursuing all things fashion, ranging from editorial work to photography to her dream of starting her own brand.

Although she’s now pursuing her passion for fashion, she wasn’t always sure if it was a viable path. But thanks to her brother again, she learned that the best career is the one you love.

“He told me I should follow my path and continue,” Ankhil said. “He knew that I would take it seriously. I always only had one foot in the door because I didn’t know how my parents would react. But with his guidance, it was easy to decide.”

Ben Samek

This fall, senior Ben Samek will take the long 10-hour plane ride to London to pursue his dream of studying engineering at Northeastern University. Ben will attend Northeastern’s London Scholars Program, where he will study abroad his freshman year on their London campus. 

“I’ve never been to London before, but I’ve heard it’s pretty awesome,” Ben said. “They have lots of great classes there and opportunities to help you get into the engineering process, and learn more about it.”

Growing up, Ben has always been interested in math and science. From a young age, he knew that reading and writing weren’t his strongest subjects, so after exploring many STEM options, a career in mechanical engineering became his ambition. 

Before making his college decision, Ben was considering attending Case Western Reserve in Cleveland for their engineering program. However, Case Western Reserve simply couldn’t compare to the opportunities Northeastern provided him, even if it meant spending his freshman year overseas. 

“Northeastern has a great co-op program, and that’s what sold me on going there,” Ben said. “You get two semesters off to work a paid internship, which will give me great engineering experience before I even finish college.”

Next year, Ben will live in one of the largest cities in Europe, studying humanities in a city rich with history. He plans to attend plays in the Globe Theater, famous for having held many Shakespearean plays since it was built in 1599. 

“I’ve heard a lot of stories about people coming back from the London scholars and deciding to room with the people they met while they were there,” Ben said. “It’ll be a great way to build connections with a smaller group before coming back to the big Boston campus.”

Although he didn’t go into the college decision process planning to study abroad, Ben is looking forward to the possibilities London will offer him — and the rest of his college years at Northeastern.

“This program became a precondition to going to Northeastern, and I felt like it was the right place for me,” Ben said, “London is going to be a really cool experience.” 

Nathan Coleman

After falling in love with theater eight years ago, senior Nathan Coleman is continuing his career at Rutgers University, majoring in theater with a concentration in lighting design and technology. Located right next to New York City, and with lead professor Broadway designer Donald Holder, Rutgers is the perfect stepping stone to Nathan’s dream of designing on Broadway. 

“I decided I would pursue theater in college at the end of freshman year,” Nathan said. “I was looking at everything I was doing, and realized that theater is the one thing that I will always enjoy and do.”

Nathan first designed lighting for local theaters in middle school at Bullis Charter School. To this day, he still helps out with its theater shows as a designer. Nathan also helps out at Upstage Theater, a local student-run company in Mountain View, always fostering connections to open up new opportunities. 

“My biggest inspiration has been my middle school drama teacher, Jocelyn Pickett,” Nathan said. “She hired me after I graduated, and she’s always been supportive along my journey in theater.”

Designing a show is intricate, often taking hours to set up all the lights on the grid correctly and figuring out where to hang each light. Nathan helps behind the scenes by programming lights and bringing the vision of the theater together. 

“My favorite part about lighting design is the challenge that it poses,” Nathan said. “I always have an exact vision of what I want, and then conveying that to the stage is very rewarding.”

For Nathan, continuing to explore problem-solving on the go with the lighting board shaped his vision for the future at Rutgers. 

“I picked Rutgers for their theater program, and it’s just a really good school overall,” Nathan said. “Whether I make it to Broadway or end up designing for concerts and big shows, I’m going to continue to enjoy designing.” 

Vincent Arredondo

Unlike most of his classmates, senior Vincent Arredondo will head to Hawaii this fall to begin active duty for the U.S. Army. He’ll balance this with an online electrician course at Foothill College, as a backup plan for the future. 

“I hope to continue in the army after completing my first four years,” Vincent said. “Just in case I don’t like it — and it’s possible that I might — I can go straight into working on tower poles.”

Vincent has always disliked the idea of attending a four-year college, and due to other financial factors, decided to look into other opportunities after high school. After one of his cousins joined the army, Vincent was inspired to follow in his footsteps.

“My cousin told me that serving in the army gave him a sense of purpose,” Vincent said. “He felt like he belonged there, and that’s something that I’d like to discover.”

Last November, when college application deadlines were approaching, Vincent faced the hard decision to pursue the electrician route or sign himself up for the military. 

“I’ve always liked electricity and messing around with wires,” Vincent said. “I even sometimes take apart little toys to see how they work.”

Ultimately, the support of the people around him led Vincent to choose to enlist in the army. 

“My grandmother has always been 100 percent supportive of me,” Vincent said. “She knows that joining the Army is scary, but she respects my decision to pursue this path.”

With future plans of combining his two passions, the military and electronics, Vincent is excited for what this next step holds for him. 

“Next year, I’m looking forward to becoming a more well-mannered and disciplined person,” Vincent said. “I hope to go on to get a tech job in the military, and I feel like the army is going to change me to become a better person overall.”

Caesar Coca

Senior Caesar Coca always knew they’d be pursuing music beyond high school. In the fall, they’ll study vocal jazz performance at Berklee College of Music, known for its world-class contemporary and jazz training.

“I was seven years old, in the car, singing on the highway, screeching my little lungs out, and my mom turned down the volume all the way,” Caesar said. “She said, ‘You sound like shit. If you want to sing, I will get you lessons.’ So I’ve been singing since then.”

Caesar’s since branched out into instrumental music, including the drums, guitar, piano, clarinet, ukulele, harmonica, and keytar. However, singing is their forte — Caesar is trained in classical opera, jazz, and R&B. They’ve already performed at events including Matchbox Open Mic and in the school choir.

“I literally just want to perform for people,” Caesar said. “It’s the same way where you have guests and you want to cook a home-cooked meal to make them feel loved and happy. Everybody has their own song that makes them feel this type of way.”

Berklee is the perfect destination for such goals, with performance opportunities for students at famous festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella. At Berklee, Caesar is also excited to try their hand at composition to expand their music experience.

“I feel today, artistry is 100 percent in jeopardy, because people are using AI to create fake art and fake music,” Caesar said. “I say it’s fake because the whole idea behind art is that it is emotional. But I also know that live music will always have its place.”

At Berklee, Caesar is excited to pursue what they love professionally.

“I’d rather be happy doing what I do and connecting with people, than have a job that’s well-paying where I want to die,” Caesar said. “Just doing whatever is right for you is the most important thing. Life is far too short not to do what you enjoy.”

Jennifer Palacios

Senior Jennifer Palacios will go beyond the traditional college experience at Loyola Marymount University. While studying mechanical engineering, she will be participating in the Air Force ROTC at the same time.

The program entails four years of military training and additional classes alongside undergraduate studies. After graduation, cadets commission as officers in their respective programs and serve in the U.S. military for four years.

“I’ve wanted to be in the military since I was 12,” Jennifer said. “It is my way of giving back to the country, and a ‘thank you’ to my parents because they came here for better opportunities.”

Jennifer hopes to become a pilot or engineer, which is why she chose the Air Force. In the military, she’ll travel around the world, visiting bases from Japan to South America. 

Last summer, Jennifer attended the Naval Academy’s summer seminar, meeting people from all over the U.S. and getting a sense of the community the military can bring.

“We all had one common goal,” Jennifer said. “The physical training you go through is super intense, so when you go through something like that with other people, it is super binding. I still talk to the people that I went to the summer program with, and some of them are doing ROTC too.”