Cal Poly, New York, Designer/Fabricator
/My time in high school
Attended high school in the
2010s
Overall high school experience
7/10. A solid 7/10. A solid average.
Grades in high school
Mostly A's
Favorite subjects
Foreign Language, Math, Science, Visual Arts
Struggled with...
English. I don’t do well with empty and unintentional metaphors.
Favorite extracurricular
Arts / Crafts
Life since high school
“The place you go to after high school, whether it’s college or fucking Siberia, is for YOU. and only you. If you go to college, the major YOU choose is YOUR choice.”
Attended college / university at
Cal Poly, SLO.
Majored in
Architecture
Places lived in US
New York
Places lived outside the US
Copenhagen, Denmark
Current occupations / past occupations
Designer/Fabricator
Industries I've worked in
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (e.g. Law, Accounting, Interior Design, Graphic Design, R&D, PR, Advertising, etc.)
Did your education prepare you for your career or occupation?
High school gave me zero skills for my current job. Any skills obtained in the time period I was in high school were not obtained directly from any high school curriculum or program.
In college, I finally found my birds of a feather, my flock.
Has your education or career/occupation trajectory ever changed? How?
I originally was going to take the full path towards architectural licensure. Now, given the intellectual state (not the state of the market. The architecture market will never diminish, nor die out.) of the industry, being a licensed architect holds no meaning for me.
A little introspection...
To me, being successful means...
Being happy with what you do with your life
My definition of success has changed over time.
Like every student in Palo Alto, being successful meant being at the top of your class, and eventually going on to be at the top of your field. However, being the best is, of course, remarkably subjective, and not objective at all. Most things aren’t measureable in numbers and statistics.
My greatest accomplishment to date and what I’ve learned from it
Picking a non-STEM major and getting the hell out of Silicon Valley.
Anything else you'd like to share?
The place you go to after high school, whether it’s college or fucking Siberia, is for YOU. and only you. If you go to college, the major YOU choose is YOUR choice. Not everyone in Palo Alto belongs in STEM, and that’s the best thing in the world. (Consider this a major plug for art and design majors. haha, pun.)
I turned down a Columbia acceptance because I knew I’d achieve more as a Cal Poly architecture student. (Also I’m one of maybe two people from [high school name omitted] that went to Cal Poly for architecture in the last decade so chances of anonymity are slim. but also given my v avg high school experience, nobody actually knows me ????♀️)
This alumni is open to your questions and follow-ups.
In order to protect anonymity, we will pass along your message and they can choose whether to respond.
My favorite spot in or around Palo Alto
the highway 101 on ramp outta there ✌️
