School hosts event that asks students what it means to be successful

In an effort to raise awareness about the many alternative paths graduating seniors have and reduce students’ stress, PTSO hosted “OMG! I Forgot to Apply to Harvard!!” on Jan. 28 and presented multiple speakers who talked about their own life experiences.

The speakers covered topics ranging from academic pressure and stress to searching for the right college. 

The first speaker, Denise Pope of Stanford’s Challenge Success (an education support organization), asked the audience of approximately 250 what it really means to be successful. 

Pope described how some people think of the path to success as a narrow upward line, even though it almost always ends up being “bent and distorted.” She explained this is because there are many paths to success, and there is no predicting how each person’s path will look. 

Pope used college as an example, suggesting that attending the best college for a person doesn’t necessarily mean attending the Ivy League schools.

“It’s important to know the reason you’re going to college before you decide which college to go to,” Pope said.

The second speaker, school CASSY therapist Kim Cousens, presented the statistics and demographics of students who seek counseling help in CASSY (Counseling and Support Services for Youth) at Los Gatos and Saratoga High School.

“The number one reason students at SHS come in for help is academic stress,” Cousens said. “We have seen that when students do better socially and emotionally, their academics follow.”

Three panelists, including SHS alumni Ben Rooke of 2006 and Deepti Raghavan of 2010, spoke about about their personal experiences in high school and how they ended up landing jobs at Apple and Google.

The other panelist, Spencer Ackermann, told his story of being expelled from his high school due to low grades and behavioral issues sophomore year. Soon after, he begged his way back into high school and worked his way to graduate from UC Santa Cruz. 

Currently, he works for a successful venture capitalist firm in Palo Alto. Through his story, he emphasized that one’s path is not carved in stone, as Pope emphasized earlier.

The final speaker, Scott Kriens, chairman of the board of Juniper Networks and an SHS parent, wrapped up the event by describing his life experiences.

“I wanted to help offer an opinion from an employer’s point of view,” Kriens said. “I know that kids worry too much about college when it should be seen as a stepping stone, not a destination in itself.”

Junior Samir Ramakrishnan, who helped film the event for PTSO, said the event was very helpful, especially to juniors who are beginning to think about colleges.

“I thought it was very different and really piqued my interest,” Ramakrishnan said. “I think that we should definitely do this again in the future and make sure that more students know about it.”