Four seniors share their current goals and aspirations. In May, we will revisit the same students to see if those have changed. This is the story of Vedansh Arya.

Photo by Gavin Chen, Staff Writer

Aditi Bhati, Staff Writer

It is no secret that the rigorous academic culture at Northview can be quite overbearing and can stress students out, but thankfully, the senior class has Vedansh Arya, a student who stands firmly by the importance of laughing a little more.

Arya has been at Northview for all four years, but due to having to complete his junior year online, he does not feel like a senior. His classes this year are the same level of rigor for him as those of his sophomore year, and the year feels underwhelmingly normal.

“It kind of feels like I’m back to my sophomore and freshman years,” Arya said. “I feel like it never really clicked that I finished my sophomore year.”

However, he has changed since his freshman year. High school has taught him not only the importance of hard work, but also the importance of relaxation, and Arya will be taking this wisdom with him throughout his senior year. He hopes to make his last year of high school meaningful by savoring each experience more.

As a senior, Arya has taken a good amount of the courses offered by Northview. One of those classes, AP Computer Science Principles, inspired him to major in computer science at his dream school, Georgia Tech. 

Besides his career aspirations, Arya is especially passionate about music.  Outside of school, Arya plays piano, but in school, he is extremely active in the marching band. Arya plays the trumpet and would say his favorite teacher in high school is Kelly Dickerson, the band teacher. What he finds particularly interesting about marching band is how it adds a visual aspect to music. As band captain, he devotes a lot of his time outside of school to band and is always looking to improve with it, something his teacher has taken notice of.

“It’s hard to believe he’s already a senior, but I know his legacy of hard work, love for music, and compassion for his younger trumpet section members will live on after he graduates,” Dickerson said.

Arya’s favorite club is Model United Nations because he feels it has given him a good view of the world and has helped him mature as a person. It is also a huge time commitment but since he is doing it with friends, he finds it fun. He cites the Georgia Model United Nations field trip from his sophomore year as one of the defining events of high school for him.

“That’s one of the most fun field trips I’ve had in my entire life,” Arya said. “It was kind of the moment where it clicked like, ‘Yeah, this is high school. I’m not in middle school or elementary school anymore.’”

While Arya certainly takes on a rigorous course load and a multitude of extracurriculars, he most importantly ensures that his mental health is his main priority. Rather than stress over what has happened, he takes things as they come and looks to ease the edge in every situation. He describes himself as the funny friend, and senior Paul Philip, a friend of Arya’s, could not agree more.

“There’s nothing he won’t do for a laugh, and he’s always looking to include everyone with his jokes,” Philip said.

As he prepares to leave Northview, Arya hopes to leave an impact on the school through his philosophy on balancing rigor and work.

“A lot of people at Northview will work hard, and then they’re so caught up in working hard that if they don’t get what they want or if they don’t accomplish their goals by the time they want to, it just beats them up from inside,” Arya said. “For me, I’m not like that. I’ll work hard, but whatever happens, happens. If everyone took things a little less seriously, we’d all be better off.”