Family: My dad, Dave Sr; mom Josephine; and my younger sister Victoria, who’s a sophomore.

How long have you lived in Newtown? My entire scholastic career.

Work: I’m a full time student. I also do a lot of volunteer work, and work in my dad’s office in the summers as an assistant.

What do you like to do in your free time? I’m an aspiring computer science major — I’ve always been a computer nerd — so I absolutely love to program. I’ve learned many languages, and I love exploring complex computer science topics all the way from computer graphics and software rendering to AI. I also enjoy music. I’ve played the saxophone since the fifth grade and I’ve participated in the NHS Jazz Band. That takes a lot of practice, but occasionally I play in a small combo. I get together with my friends and we like to bond over music to a certain extent.

There’s also your standard high schooler stuff — going out with friends and having fun, and I like to bowl a bit. I also enjoy working out with my family. My dad has a lot of workout equipment, and while it’s not too common it’s something we all do pretty much weekly and we really enjoy. That was something that started during COVID and we've continued with it. There’s also cooking. My mom has been very inspired by The New York Times recipes, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves — her, my sister and I — to make all sorts of things. So we’ve also bonded over food. We’re big foodies in my family.

Are you a member of any clubs, organizations and/or communities of faith? The high school Gold Jazz Ensemble, and I participate and have leadership in a number of honor societies — The Computer Science Honor Society, The Science National Honor Society, and The National Honor Society. I’ve also done the Coding Club, a competitive club at the high school.

Who or what has been the greatest influence on your life? My parents, because of the values they have instilled in me from a very young age that I’ve internalized. There’s a lot of honesty, hard work, dedication — your standard values, everything that you’re telling your kids. My parents really drove it home with me when I was young and since then I’ve always strived to be the best version of myself because of their guidance when I was very young. I credit a lot of my successes to them and I think they’ve been the greatest influence.

What is your favorite music genre? I love jazz. Really, I’ve always had a calling for jazz music. In addition, especially recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz fusion that blends jazz with styles of rock, funk, pop, and all various sorts of substyles within jazz fusion. It’s really great. It’s high quality music, and a lot of it is old but there’s plenty of new songs as well.

Favorite color? Blue

What is your favorite travel destination? I went to Europe with school about a month ago. It was such a fantastic trip. We went through central Europe, western Europe, all the way from France to Germany, and every single country we went to was beautiful. It was just amazing — the food, the landscapes, the people, the culture, everything. If I had to choose to visit a place again, it would be that west-central Europe.

What is your proudest accomplishment? Getting into college. So far it’s such a competitive environment, especially now, it’s probably the most difficult it’s ever been, especially to get into computer science. My admission is a reflection of all the hard work that I put into not just the application but building a resume, and that’s everything I’ve done over high school. Cumulatively, that’s my proudest accomplishment so far.

What is your favorite thing about Newtown? Newtown High School has such passionate, dedicated teachers. It’s also a great community environment. You have teachers who are so dedicated not just to the job and students learning, but they also like to bond and not necessarily make friends, but they interact with students and uplift them from that personal level. I’ve benefitted from that myself.

Do you have a personal credo? My dad has always said: “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” It took me a while and now I realize it applies to life in general, where if you can take comfort with discomfort, take comfort in putting yourself out there, then really, that’s how you grow and that’s how you succeed in life. I try to live by that.