What is your name and grade?My name is Samantha Pindiak, and I am a senior.

What activities are you involved in?I was in Junior Varsity Badminton, I am a Point Tutor and I am a part of the yearbook committee.

Why did you join yearbook?Because it’s another English elective, but also it’s just something that I wanted to be a part of; like the editing, I found it really interesting, and also going to take photos, because I wanted the journalism aspect of it. 

What was your role in the yearbook this year?I did most of the page layout and the copy editing, and I also took some photos as well. 

What is the best part about being part of the yearbook?Probably just the little weird community we’ve built. Everyone has their own personalities, and we assign people to different jobs because of it, like the more outspoken people would go get like sources if we needed it, or like go to take photos of people. And then for people who maybe didn’t want to be doing that, you could work on the editing, or the page layouts. 

What is challenging about yearbook?Towards the end of the year, when everyone was taking their time throughout the year and now everything needs to be done at one time. You’re scrambling to put things together, and you have to help out where you weren’t originally working before.

Favorite English class and why?Probably Women and Gender Studies, probably because of the pieces of literature we were reading. They were just so interesting, like “The Handmaid’s Tale” or “The Color Purple;” the discussions we would have [were interesting]. There was only one guy [boy] in our class, but it was still really interesting to talk about different societal things.

What was the best discussion you had in Women and Gender Studies?Probably around “The Handmaid’s Tale,” discussing how Roe vs. Wade being overturned and how it ties into the story. Also I remember the one guy said [it relates] to “the double standard of shaving.”

How often do you read?That’s complicated, because I buy a lot of books but surprisingly it takes me a long time to get through them.

What is your favorite book and why?“Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit” by Jeanetter Winterson, and it’s kind of about her growing up in a Mormon community, but also it’s like her whole journey of realizing her sexuality and everything. It also ties into mythology, so it was interesting [to read].

What is one book you have never been able to put down? “The Handmaid’s Tale” because of the dystopian aspect of it, and the shocking parts, like the things you would have never thought to be true.

What do you do when you can’t bring yourself to read?I try to get in a good environment; make it “aesthetically pleasing” to help me focus.

Any advice to juniors who are looking to apply to college? For me, it was mainly about financial aid, but it’s also more than that. I would recommend actually going to the schools and visiting to see if you’re interested. 

Favorite place to shop for clothes?Probably Target…yeah. Target.