By Blogger-Interviewer Leo Milmet
Welcome to How To Get Through High School: An Interview with an Academic Intellectual of Palm Valley School. In it, I interview the incredibly successful Ben Snyder, senior at Palm Valley School, and I, along with the reader, learn a bit about who Ben is and what makes him successful? Ben Snyder and I sit down and talk about school and life. My questions for Ben are written in italics, while his answers are in normal font.
Leo: What is your full name?
Ben: Benjamin Thomas Snyder.
Leo: Why am I interviewing you?
Ben: Because you perceive me as academically successful. I get good grades. Most recently, I got the AP Scholar with Distinction award and I’m a National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist.
Leo: What are your hopes? Your dreams? Your ambitions in the future that motivate you?
Ben: That’s something I’ve been trying to figure out for a while. Recently, I’ve focused on physics. That’s developing as a passion of mine. It’s a most fundamental science. I’m a very logical person, and that’s just what intrigues me the most and gets me the most excited.
Leo: How do you find motivation?
Ben: My academic motivation stems from values entrenched in me from a young age. It’s just what you get. You did your homework to the best of your ability, you tried your best, and as I grew older, I learned why I was doing this. It was for my future. I’m still exploring, and I don’t know ultimately what I want to do with my life, so I want to get to a good college that puts forth opportunities for me to find my true passion that I can apply to earning a living as well. I’m still exploring.
Leo: What is your number one piece of advice for students going into high school next year?
Ben: Figure out what works for you. Every situation is unique, so whatever you’re doing has to work for you, what I mean by this is whatever goal you’re trying to accomplish and whatever you want to get out of high school–and that’s definitely not limited to academics. It could be socially, it could be, um, introspective, it could be, just buckling down and getting through it so you get a degree, or it could just be wandering through it because you don’t know what to do yet. It’s all unique to the person.
Leo: What is your number one piece of advice for students who are just going into Advanced Placement courses?
Ben: Don’t put coursework ahead of your well-being.
Leo: How do you manage time effectively, balancing out extracurriculars, AP courses, regular courses, the play, clubs, etc. with free time? APs generally give over an hour of homework each night, and other activities also take up a bunch of time, so how do you do it?
Ben: First of all, the hour-a-night thing about AP courses isn’t true for this school. They don’t always give an hour a night. For me personally, I like to tackle one thing at a time; I’m bad at multitasking, and it stresses me out when I multitask. Attack one assignment or objective at a time. That’s not always an option, but still keeping organized is what you need to do. I feel that in a way it’s kind of unfair because in some aspects I have a compulsion for order, and y’know, there’s like a… for instance, because I developed the habit of writing everything down in my planner and crossing it off when finished, I have a compulsion to do it even if it’s not necessary, so that I’m never aggravated by having to do it. If I forget to write something [an assignment] down, and I’ve already done it, I don’t do it, obviously, but for the most part, I write things down. For me, the things that I am organized about come natural to me, and the things I’m not, it really takes it out of me. If I have to keep my room organized, it’s exhausting.
Leo: Does being left-brained give you an academic advantage?
Ben: No, because there are creative elements to the school system. For example, I marvel at how someone like Amanda (Amanda Laule, a Palm Valley senior) can understand the passages she reads.
Leo: What, specifically, are 2-3 things everyone should do to be successful in school, as a baseline?
Ben: Pay attention to teachers in class. Lectures. Also, give yourself breaks. If you really don’t feel like doing homework, it probably won’t be your best work, but I still recommend doing it, but after a break.
Leo: What are some more habits of successful students that you would suggest to people who want to become better students?
Ben: From what I’ve observed from my peers, it’s the people who care the most about academics and the people who prioritize getting work done.
Leo: How do you thrive within the system?
Ben: I mostly just work within it. I do what is asked of me, for the most part.
Leo: Any secret suggestions to high schoolers to minimize the stress of high school?
Ben: No, I don’t know any secrets. It’s gonna be there if you really care.
Leo: Any regrets about your high school experience that could educate others on what to do or what not to do?
Ben: I wish I had started thinking about college earlier. That’s about it.
Leo: How do you balance the pressures of AP courses and exams and SATs and the pressures of college application work?
Ben: Just…I find time. I mean, I have to sacrifice, like, I don’t get to study for regular tests or quizzes. I pretty much just find the time whenever I can.
Leo: What tools do you use to help yourself stay centered?
Ben: I keep my personal interests intact. Y’know, for me, I play basketball. Do whatever you like.
Leo: What are the easiest APs you took? The hardest?
Ben: Easiest for me was AP Calculus AB. The hardest, for me, it was AP US History.
Leo: What are your secrets to college application essays? To essays in general?
Ben: I don’t know. I’d love those secrets if someone has them, because I kinda struggle with introspection sometimes.
Leo: What are your biggest successes? Your biggest failures? How could you have avoided your failures?
Ben: I think the failures I’ve cared most about is the performance of the basketball team. We underperformed, I think, last year, compared to what we could’ve accomplished. I actually care a lot about that.
Leo: What makes you interesting as a person, and how did these character traits help or hinder you as a student? How might you grow these more desirable character traits and how might you temper the undesirable ones?
Ben: I’m an introvert, um, like my sense of humor is…unexpected. Introversion probably helped me because I didn’t feel as much of a desire to be social in my free time, but at the same time, I still have interests to distract me, so…
Leo: Any more keys to your being so successful?
Ben: I’ve probably already said this, but paying attention in class to teachers, I think, is the most important.
Thanks very much, Ben. You’re an incredible guy. Have a good day.
Editor: Bella Bier
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