Are you doing anything cool this summer?
For many students, summer break is the time to tan at the beach, explore Santa Monica with friends, visit campgrounds with family, and spend lazy days lying on the couch eating or watching Netflix. However, this summer a few students will also be utilizing worry-free summer days to explore opportunities outside of school. Whether it’s playing with an orchestra, competing in an international sports tournament or interning at a technical institute, these students’ vacations are just a little bit different from the average high schoolers.’
Taking on the Philharmonic
Akash Velu, sophomore, won’t just be listening to music over the summer – he’ll be performing it.
On July 17th and 19th, Velu will be playing in a concert with the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic as a soloist alongside several other student soloists. Velu will be performing the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, and looks forward to “finishing and bowing to the audience” after his shows.
“Not many people have the opportunity to play as a soloist with a professional orchestra,” he said. “The Thousand Oaks Philharmonic is unique in the fact that it allows junior students to do that, and I think it’s a good opportunity for students to have a professional experience.”
Velu has been practicing weekly by himself and at lessons with his teacher, Dr. Kyung Lee, who encouraged him to audition last November. He has three upcoming rehearsals with the orchestra, which is composed of around 50 adult instrumentalists, and the conductor, Dr. John Roscigno. The venues will be a Camarillo church on Friday evening, and the Scherr Forum of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Saturday afternoon.
“I think it’s a culmination of my 10 or 11 years of playing piano because it all comes down to this one moment,” Velu said.
Traveling to space – almost
SpaceX and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are two of the top aeronautical engineering institutions in the United States, and Josh Freedman, junior, may be interning at either location this summer.
“I like working with technology, especially designing and creating software,” Freedman said. “Both of the internships would allow me to get a deeper understanding on what goes on in relation to technology and the future.”
After being encouraged by friends and family and invited by SpaceX, Freedman will be applying to one of the internships. If accepted, he will be able to apply the technological knowledge he has gained by participating in Robotics Club and CodeNation Club, and managing websites and software for private businesses.
“I could be on a design team, I might actually write software for various things, or I might be in the testing area,” Freedman said. “Internships tend to be a little more lenient on what specifically you do, so I might move around a bit.”
Currently Freedman has yet to send in his complete application, but believes that most other applications are for jobs rather than internships. He prefers working at SpaceX in Hawthorne, about 1.5 hours away, and will either carpool or rent a nearby apartment.
“”I hope that I don’t have to drive there every day,” Freedman said. “Traffic seems to be a constant nightmare on the drive there.”
Proteins beyond the biology textbook
For Nicole Thompson, junior, the genetic diagrams and theories in biology textbooks will be coming alive this summer at the California State University of Channel Islands (CSUCI).
“We’re going to be doing a research internship and working with genetic mutations of proteins,” she said. “It’s hands-on and we’ll be actually doing lab work.”
Thompson learned about her summer internship through her biotechnology teacher Colleen Malone, who knows local professors from Moorpark College and promoted intern opportunities in her class. After applying with a letter of recommendation, Thompson was accepted to work with Dr. Blake Gillepsie at CSUCI.
“I am excited for this because this looks like so much fun and it’s going to be really good on college applications,” she said. “This (field) might be something I want to pursue.”
Ben Bynder selected to play soccer in the European Maccabi Games
Ben Bynder, junior, is one of only two high school students from the West Coast that will be playing on the USA national soccer team in this year’s European Maccabi Games in Berlin.
“The European Maccabi games are basically the Jewish Olympics but a little smaller,” Bynder said. Since 1932, Jewish people have gathered to play different sports at the European Maccabi games. “You all can relate to them in all different ways,” Bynder said. “It’s generations of people getting together.”
Bynder has been playing soccer for the past eight years. For the past three years he has played on the high school soccer team and this year, he was a member of the varsity team. He also plays with his club team, Real So Cal. “I’ve been working very hard these past two years to become a better player,” Bynder said. During the high school soccer season, he has two practices each week for his club team and five each week for his high school team.
Matthew Schleich, junior, has been playing soccer with Bynder for the past six years and was also Bynder’s teammate on the Varsity team his past season. “I’m really excited that he has a chance to play soccer abroad,” Schleich said, “It’s been really cool watching him turn into a great [soccer] player.”
Bynder’s high school soccer coach Eric Sanford says that Bynder is“exceptional at being in the right place at the right time. He thinks quick and strikes quicker.”
Bynder first heard about the European Maccabi Games from his father about a year before he applied to play on the USA team. At first, Bynder joked about applying, but as the deadline approached, he decided to fill out the application. Last December, Bynder found out he was accepted. “The experience he will gain from this will be priceless,” Sanford said.
Bynder has begun practice with his team for the European Maccabi Games in Chicago. “It’s such an honor to represent this country in any competition! I’m very excited about it,” Bynder said.