GOAL: Gain understanding of the professional world through firsthand experience.

Being only a freshman in High School, my future is quite uncertain. I do not know what I would enjoy doing or what I wouldn’t. I can get some sense through research, sure, but that doesn’t always paint the full picture. That’s why I’m seeking an internship. These, to me at least, are test runs, where I get to experience what it would be like working in that job position as an adult, feeling it on my own skin, and all of it. I would be able to understand the responsibilities and expectations for that job, as well as its benefits and enjoyable aspects, and understand them fully.

Coach: LOJH Speech & Debate

When talking about serving the community, the first thing that comes to mind for most is going out to a non-profit, doing some volunteering, cleaning up parks, donating food, serving the homeless, etc, but for me, this is different. I attend an excellent school, and to me, it’s important to give back to a school that has blessed me so much. That’s why, beginning with this school year, I chose to co-run the Speech & Debate Club at the middle school. Everyone has their way of serving the community, and I feel like coaching middle schoolers with my speaking and debating experience is one of the best ways I can help. With over 25 students joined, I’m jubilant to take a part in this flourishing club.

Player: Varsity Water Polo

I may not know much about the professional environment, but I do for certain know that teamwork is key. There is something about being put on a team with people you don’t know that have similar skill levels as you that lets you practice what it would be like when you are hired for a job. It lets you practice building teamwork, socializing with people beyond your normal social group, preparing you for life beyond school.

David playing water polo

Scholar: Active Reader, 4.0 GPA

While there are many traits desired in the professional world, there are also few prerequisites, one of which is academics. This prerequisite, I feel like I meet. Ever since the 7th grade, I have consistently been getting a 4.0 GPA, and this year, I even have a possibility to get a higher GPA, since I’m taking a weighted class, honors english. Moreover, I’m 2 grades ahead in math, and a year ahead in science. But succeeding in school is only part of the requirement for academics. The second is you must be willing to do it. The reason you go to school can’t be because your parents force you, or the government does, but because you truly want to and understand its importance. I think I posses both the awareness of the necessity for school and the curiousness of a person desirning knowledge. And that brings us to a major problem. Summer. 3 months that end up being wasted. But I know it doesn’t have to be that way. If I had something like an internship to keep me busy, I would end up gaining knowledge all year round, which could yield tremendous benefits. But filling my summer isn’t the only proof I have of my desire for knowledge. I’m also an avid reader. I read about 1 book per week, not simply because someone is forcing me to, but rather because I quite enjoy reading. It’s very entertaining, and most time’s better and more productive then the alternative, which might be texting or watching a movie. By fulfilling both parts of the requirement for academics, I can confidently say I have thus fulfilled the simple prerequisite of academics.

Designer: 2x Won SchoolsNEXT

The Lake Oswego School District has lately been the powerhouse for the SchoolsNEXT competition, winning the last 3 international competition, and 2 of those times, it was me and my team that led the LOSD into victory. The SchoolsNEXT competition is an architecture competition run by a4le (Association for Learning Environments), and it is a design competition. You create a team of up to 5 people, (we had an exception in 6th grade with having 9 team members) and as a team, you create the school of the future. It is a very tedious task, taking over 6 months to create the design and 12 months to finalize it, if you make it to the International round of the competition. Teams can get eliminated as early as 6 months into the competition. To design this ideal school, a team needs to show imagination, creativity, logic, critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, successful communication and goal setting/achieving, all of which our team must have had, since we won 2 times the International Competition. Do these attributes sound familiar? Probably because all of these attributes are also found necessary in the workplace.

First time David’s team won the SchoolsNEXT competition.

Thinker: Chess for Success

Back in the 5th grade, I was one of the participants that qualified for the Chess for Success Oregon State Tournament. While this might seem like an impressive achievement, what it represents to me is even more important. In the game of chess, planning, the ability to focus, confidence and patience are all necessary for success. For me succeeding in the Chess field shows that I, to some extent, have developed these attributes. Moreover, it also shows that there is a willingness and desire in me to grow these attributes even more from other methods as well.

David qualified for and played in the Chess for Success state chess tournament.

Speaker: Varsity Debate Team

In middle school, I had done 3 years of Speech and Debate. The last 2 of those years, I had won the biggest tournament in the state in my debating event. That’s why starting freshman year I was put on the LOHS Varsity Speech and Debate team. The reason Speech and Debate is so important to me, other then it’s fun, is that it helps teach, develop, and improve your ability to communicate to people your thoughts, emotions, beliefs and opinions. I would say I’m a natural born leader, but I can also say I wasn’t born with the skill set to be an effective one. Just having the desire to be the leader isn’t enough, you also need to be able to lead, and Debate Club definitely teaches you that.

Immigrant: Born in Serbia

I was born in the year of 2003, in the City of Novi Sad, Serbia. There I grew up in and spent the first 10 years of my life. Life in Europe is quite different than the one in the US. This gives me a unique perspective.

David lived 10 years in Serbia.