I feel like I'm living a fairy tale.

My time in high school

Attended high school in the
2000s

Overall high school experience
9/10. [High school name omitted] did an amazing job of preparing me for college. My GPA went up when I went to Stanford from where it was at [high school].

Grades in high school
A's and B's.

 

Favorite subjects
Math, Physical Education

Struggled with...
English. Assignments that are graded subjectively like essays were difficult for me to figure out how to do properly.

Favorite extracurricular
Sports / Recreation


Life since high school

[An unexpected event in my life was] getting back together with my high school sweetheart after we had broken up for a year while I was in college. We are now happily married.

Attended college / university at
Stanford

Majored in
I majored in Mathematical and Computational Sciences.

Post-graduate education or training
I received my PhD from Harvard in Biostatistics in 2014.

Places lived in US
California, Connecticut, Massachusetts

Current occupations / past occupations
I am a postdoctoral researcher in biostatistics at Harvard.

Industries I've worked in
- Academia

Did your education prepare you for your career or occupation?
Of course.

Has your education or career/occupation trajectory ever changed? How?
No. Ever since I took AP Statistics at [high school name omitted] I knew I wanted to be a statistician. That has not changed.


A little introspection...

To me, being successful means...
being happy, feeling accomplished, and staying afloat.

My definition of success has not changed over time.  

My greatest accomplishment to date and what I’ve learned from it
Getting my undergraduate degree from Stanford and my PhD from Harvard. From those experiences I learned that I want to stay in school for the rest of my life. As a result my goal is to stay in academia as a professor.

My biggest mistake or regret so far and what I’ve learned from it
I wish I had eaten healthier/been more active in college. I learned that my metabolism slowed down a lot once I reached adulthood. 

An unexpected event that significantly changed my life and how it impacted me
Getting back together with my high school sweetheart after we had broken up for a year while I was in college. We are now happily married. 

Anything else you'd like to share?
I loved my time at [high school name omitted]. I met the love of my life in orchestra and we are still going strong today! I'll always cherish that time of my life.


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

Sitting outside of Baja Fresh and Jamba Juice after school.