The Paw Print

Khalila is a 16-year-old Trinidadian who lives in Flatbush, Brooklyn. She’s known for throwing good parties. Her family inspires her to be whoever and whatever she wants to be. Most people don’t know that she is missing one of her ribs. Khalila is currently undecided in which profession she would like to work in but she’d like to help out her community as much as she can. Her friends look to her to be a strong decision-maker who is wise and fun.

Arianna Rose Winchester is only 15 but she has big dreams. After being home schooled for most of her life, she currently attends NYC Lab School, where she will be a junior this fall. Teachers would say Arianna is like any other student; talkative but when it comes down to it, the work always gets done and it shows with her GPA of 95%. After creating the Community Service Club in the early fall, Arianna has continued to show effort by volunteering with the club and helping her fellow classmates. Her goal for the future is to attend college and perhaps grad school, she would like to challenge herself by attending an Ivy League school but isn’t sure she’ll make it. However, with her academic skills and her strong sense of determination, Arianna Winchester is going to change the world someday and she may not even know it.

Alina Lee, 17, is Korean and attends Brooklyn Technical High School. One memorable moment she described was her math class: She failed but she didn’t give up and studied even harder. “Hard work pays off,” she says. She loves to bake and dreams of opening her own bakery store. Yummy! One of her embarrassing moments took place when she was in third grade: There was a talent show and she and her friends had to dance Britney Spears’s moves but she was not good at dancing. Throughout the show, she stared at the audience and cried. She has a turtle, fishes, three cats – but one ran away, a dog, birds, a lizard, and a snake. Her hamsters are probably in heaven.

Noah Schoer is a 17-year-old senior at Beacon High School. He likes to read a lot and express himself through music. One moment that Noah is proud of is being part of the founding staff of the newspaper in his school. He actively worked to start the newspaper by recruiting others students from his school. He plays the guitar and is a songwriter, as well. He’d like to become a journalist, but if that doesn’t work out, he’ll find some other way to serve his community.

Sharif Wells-Soler is a 17-year-old high school senior who is outgoing and composed. He has multiple backgrounds, including Black, Cuban, Chinese, white and Native American. The most embarrassing thing that happened to him during his high school experience was when he got crossed in a basketball game and fell in front of the whole school, then ended up losing the game. When Sharif gets older he wants to be a pharmacist. He also stated his greatest memory was seeing his sister graduate from college. It influenced him to do more. He hates ignorance but fancies the color red.

If Brandon Moss was exemplified by anything, it would definitely be his guitar. Calling the instrument his “extra arm,” the 17-year-old Bronx resident wouldn’t be lonely on a desert island if he had his guitar – and his ex-girlfriend. He’s concerned with his neighborhood’s gang activity and gives himself credit for being a nice guy among the violence.

Although he has been skateboarding for more than four years, Daniel Kounin, 17, finds writing to be an equally interesting hobby. He believes that skateboarding and writing are less antithetical to each other than most people believe them to be. While skateboarding involves an arrogant willingness to injure oneself in order to land a trick, it also involves keen insight and open mindfulness in order to detach oneself from the dangerous aspect of skateboarding and to indulge in the fun of it. Skateboarding, like writing, requires a passion to commit yourself to hard and tedious work, as well as a willingness to pick yourself up and start with a fresh mind in spite of being frustrated by your failure to meet your goals. In short, Daniel is a highly motivated and interesting individual.

At 17, Suki Wong is an incoming senior at Baruch High School. She’d love to own a funny dog in her a peaceful neighborhood on Staten Island but worries that it would die rather quickly. Her interests lie in baking so maybe someday she’ll open a bakery. Until that happens she hopes to attend Baruch College and pursue a career in accounting or pharmacy.

As a 16-year-old sophomore at Murry Bergtraum, Jeffrey Chen livea on the border of Brooklyn and Queens in Ozone Park. His philosophy in life is that anything that goes up must comes down. However, that doesn’t stop Jeffrey from wanting to become a doctor or even his lifelong passion to become a surgeon. He takes his education seriously. Though he may not feel like he has many role models, he will strive to make himself a man and show others that they can do the same as him.

Cindy Wen, 17, grew up in the west side of Manhattan. She is shy, quiet and sweet and because of her Chinese culture holds traditional values. Her grandmother prays for her good luck every day. She attends Baruch High School and her parents motivate her to be successful. She’s aiming high to be an accountant, but is still unsure. However, she is very certain she loves math.