Student of the Week is a feature of The Forum designed to help readers get to know Latin’s student body, one voice at a time. By selecting random students, our staff hopes to encourage connection and community—we hope you enjoy!

Meet freshman Ashym Patel, an avid singer, performer, and player on Latin’s Scholastic Bowl team!

Scarlet Gitelson (SG): What’s your favorite movie and why?

Ashym Patel (AP): I really like “The Goonies,” which is an older movie I’ve watched with my dad a bunch. I also like the “Return of the Jedi” from Star Wars a lot.

SG: What music would be playing during your superhero montage?

AP: Definitely some rock music. I would change day to day, but today, because it’s a superhero montage, it would definitely be very heavy rock. So probably something like Green Day or Foo Fighters.

SG: What’s a memory that you wish you could hold onto forever?

AP: Definitely graduating last year from Middle School. It’s such a surreal experience to leave a place and enter the high school, and it’s definitely something that I would want to keep forever.

SG: What’s something about your life now that looks different than you would’ve expected it to three years ago?

AP: A lot of my extracurriculars are definitely different. I think three years ago I imagined myself to maybe do debate, and three years ago I was definitely afraid of performing and being on stage, but now I feel like I can comfortably do that a bunch. And definitely I would not picture myself doing the high school musical this year, [and] I would not picture myself doing Scholastic Bowl this year. So I think big portions of my life have shifted.

SG: How have those shifts affected your current experience?

AP: Not a ton of people can really comfortably get onstage and perform, and I think it’s a really great skill to have. I think me spending more time on that instead of things that are more popular like soccer or basketball—things that more people do—[has] turned me into someone that’s distinct from other people, as well as someone who can find new interests and someone who really can become authentically me.

SG: What would you say you’re most proud of?
AP: My ability to go out and try new things. Like I said earlier, I did not picture myself doing most of the things I’m doing this year three years ago, and I think me doing them now is because I’ve been able to want to try new things, want to do new things, [and] want to see where they take me.

SG: What would be your advice to a new student at Latin?

AP: You really should follow what you want to do, but also what you’re good at. Follow your passions, follow the things that you’ve been doing, and don’t just follow the crowd. And I would also say that if there’s something that’s been even a [tiny] bit intriguing, to just try it out. That’s really helped me develop as a person, and I think it’s really helpful just to do in general.

SG: What would you most like people to remember you by?

AP: I think I would like to have people remember me [as an] all-arounder. I don’t just do one or two things, I like to keep myself involved in many different communities, different activities, [and] different areas. So that’s definitely something I would want to be remembered by.

SG: What’s your favorite Latin tradition?

AP: I really like the Big Games. I like how it brings us all together. We are as a community diverse both in activities and things that we do and different backgrounds. And I think that the Big Games is one of very few times that the Latin community can come together and celebrate our school as a whole.