Carrollwood Day School: Tribune scholars profiles and essays

More than 200 of Hillsborough County’s top high school seniors from 35 public and private schools accepted an invitation to share their accomplishments and take part in an essay contest through the 2021 R.F. “Red” Pittman Tribune Scholars program. Their profiles and essays are published here, just as the students submitted them. To search all schools, click here.

Ellen Jannereth

School activities and accomplishments:

1. Cum Laude 2020 (11-12); Top 10% of class, currently ranked 1 out of 98.

2. Tri-M Music Honor Society; Founder and President (11-12), 120 hours of service activities including organizing concerts at local care facilities and creating virtual music outreach events.

3. First Violinist in Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestra (9-12); Principle Musician (10), Third Chair first violinist (11), performed seven concerts at the University of South Florida School of Music.

4. National Honor Society (10-12); Vice President (12), 50 hours of service activities including participating in and organizing fundraisers, blood drives, and school supplies drives for those in need.

5. Carrollwood Cultural Center Arts Summer Camp (10-12); 40 hours volunteering as a camp counselor, planned activities for 4 to 5-year-olds, collaborated with fellow counselors, helped direct musical performance for parents.

6. Speech and Debate National Honor Society (9-12); Speech Captain (11-12), Honor Society membership (9-12), Second Place in Declamation at the Florida Novice State Tournament (9), National Qualifier (10), Excellence Distinction (10-12)

College or other post-high school plans:

Will pursue a major in physics with a possible minor in business, Cornell University

Essay:

Science. We rely on it in the development of technologies, in unraveling the mysteries of the universe, and in protecting public health. Science is what holds society together.

At least it was.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed an ugly sight: a nation so divided that we cannot even seem to agree on science.

With the deterioration of society’s trust in science comes the collapse of unity and ethics. In Kindergarten, I learned to treat others how I want to be treated. Yet as I look around me, I see a society that has strayed so far from this fundamental concept of morality. In our Coronavirus relief efforts, we have forgotten about the migrant workers who cannot seek treatment and those in third-world countries who have little to no access to healthcare. Protective equipment and healthcare services must be extended to these individuals. Do we not have an ethical obligation to care for the human condition?

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To effectively address the pandemic, an acute focus on supply chain management is also essential. Leaders of nations must collaborate to create global interdependence and cooperation. We must coordinate scientific information, supplies, and the mobilization of human and economic resources.

In a society where even the public perception of science has become muddled by polarized ideals, we are unfortunately a long way from treating others how we want to be treated. A long way from being able to effectively handle a global pandemic.

But we can and need to do better.

Simran P. Saxena

School activities and accomplishments:

1. Princeton Book Award Senior Year

2. Principal’s Award Sophomore Year

3. Lettered in Varsity Girls Soccer for 4 years

4. HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) President Senior Year

5. Beta Club Relay for Life Team Captain sophomore, junior and senior years

6. 16 week Dharma Ambassadors HAF program for 10th-grade IB personal projects

College or other post-high school plans:

Pre-med track, majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in South Asian Studies, Brown University

Essay:

Get vaccinated! Wear a mask! Social distance! Those are the phrases that we have all been told, yet as a country, our response to the pandemic is far from synchronized. The world has been provided with endless scientific studies showing us the step-by-step instructions to fight against COVID-19, but political party support has caused disparities in our behaviors.

Transcending above partisan politics to reach a coordinated response to COVID-19 is what we should strive to achieve. The key to this accomplishment isn’t our own individual actions, but those which we take as a team and as a tribe. Whether left, right, or anywhere else on the political spectrum, party beliefs must be cast aside in order to stem the unison of our country’s efforts against the pandemic.

The downplaying of the coronavirus and opposition to simple requests by the CDC in support of a political party has receded the United States from their initial forward progress. The harmonization of our actions in respect to the virus is the next step of our attempt to bring an end to what seems to be an everlasting pandemic.