Name: Vaughan

Graduation Year: 2029

Middle School: Head-Royce School

Hometown: Oakland

Campus Involvement: On Campus, the most personally meaningful ways that I’ve involved myself with the CPS community have been my participation in Beginning Drama and the yearbook editing staff. In Drama, I learned how to express my individuality as a part of an ensemble, which to me meant finding my identity on stage while simultaneously uplifting my scene partners. As I have become both more confident and adaptable from this experience, my time as a page editor on the Yearbook Team was grounding, as it reinforced the importance of time management, communication, and attention to detail.

Why did you choose College Prep? I chose to go to College Prep for high school because I was excited to be surrounded by peers who are passionate and dedicated to academics, athletics, and their own hobbies. Because CPS is a small school, I knew that I would be immersed in a tightly-knit community where everyone respects and admires each other, allowing us to foster deep connections that will last not just throughout high school, but throughout our entire lives.

What is your favorite thing about College Prep? My favorite thing about College Prep is how everything about the school is tailored to helping students build connections across grade levels, and even with faculty. Mixed-grade electives and clubs allow freshmen to meet many new people, which eliminates the often perceived social gap between under and upperclassmen. With small class and advisory sizes, College Prep gives us students the ability to form deep connections with the people that we see every day, and the size of the school itself guarantees that everyone that you run into will be a familiar face by the end of your first week as a freshman.

What is your favorite character from a movie/book/television series? My favorite character of all time is Prince Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender, because I believe that his redemption arc is one of the best written out of any show I have seen before. I admire how he found the courage to question all of the values that he had internalized throughout his entire life, and that he broke off from the expectations of others by creating his own destiny.