“I find that surprises can be some of the best parts of high school, and I’m so excited to see what’s to come.”
Justina Brandt, class of 2021, is an artist, photographer, and coffee connoisseur. On campus, she is the Admissions Ambassadors Co-President, a member of the SMES Varsity Swim Team, and is the Technical Director for the Margazine. She loves photography, fall weather, and long walks on the beach, and she dislikes pickles. A fun fact about Justina is that in the sixth grade, she was interviewed for the Disney Channel.
Though Justina has been very involved throughout her time at SMES, she says that one of her favorite things she participated in during high school is SMES Varsity Swim. “I was super nervous to join because I’d never been on a real swim team before,” she says, “but as soon as I joined freshman year I knew it was one of the best decisions I’d made.” Justina is so glad that she’s been on swim the last three years and says, “it’s such a wonderful community that’s unlike anything else I’ve been a part of!” She can’t wait for her last season with her team this year.
Outside of school, Justina has been interested in photography and has run her own photography business for over five years. “I’ve always loved learning more about photography, I’ve learned to run a business, and I’ve gotten to meet so many amazing people.” She is also the director of MPS, an organization that helps young models, photographers, and other creatives foster their skills regardless of their level of experience (you can find their website here!). Justina loves to work with others on their photography and modeling skills, and says, “my favorite part of photography is encouraging self-confidence and helping people to see themselves as beautiful.”
Coming into high school, Justina says that she wishes she knew how not to worry about the opinions of others. “Don’t worry so much about what other people think!” She shares that you don’t always have to be completely confident in yourself, because “confidence will come with time,” but it is important always to be yourself regardless of outside opinions. “Being yourself will make you so much happier and give you so much freedom.”
Looking forward to her senior year, Justina says that she doesn’t have a specific senior tradition that is more important to her than the others. “To me,” she says, “it’s less about the specific traditions of senior year, but more so the little, unpredictable moments that happen and help us come together.” Due to the fact that many senior traditions may be changed or eliminated because of COVID-19, Justina has chosen to focus on the little moments that she does get, those that bring joy into her life. “I find that surprises can be some of the best parts of high school,” she says, “and I’m so excited to see what’s to come.”
On the note of surprises being the best part of high school, one of Justina’s favorite high school memories came from a bit of a surprise. She says that the SMES college tour in the summer after her sophomore year was an amazing memory, and says, “it was kind of a spontaneous choice for me to go, but I’m so grateful that I did!” On the college tour, Justina visited many different east coast colleges with her friends and lived with them for a week. “We made so many irreplaceable memories, and I had a blast,” she said. “It was such an incredible experience where I bonded with so many people, all while getting to explore New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania!”
To close, Justina has just a few pieces of advice for underclassmen and rising seniors. For the first she says, “don’t save your ACT or SAT for the last minute, because you never know when a pandemic will stop you from getting a score!” As a final piece of advice and encouragement, Justina says to remember this; “you are stronger than your circumstances,” she says. “Even when things get hard, I learned that I have the capability to work through the hard stuff and so do you.” No matter how hard things seem, she encourages other students by saying that there is always an end and that you can work through it. “Just learn whatever lessons you can and come out the other side a better person.”
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
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