Name: Maya

Graduation Year: 2026

Middle School: Charlotte Wood 

Hometown: Alamo

 

Why did you choose College Prep? I chose College Prep because of the passion the community had for learning, not just in classes, but outside of them too. College prep is known for inspiring students to become better learners, friends, leaders, and artists. I knew I had to be a part of. 

What advice would you give to 8th graders applying to high school? Don’t compare yourself to others!!!! It’s a learning experience and everyone starts off differently. Focus on yourself and what you could do better.

What is the biggest difference between middle school and high school? High school, especially at College Prep, allows you to be more independent. It might be daunting at first but becomes enormously beneficial as you adjust. Here, we have free blocks, where we don’t have scheduled classes. In that time, you have the freedom to do whatever you want. You can catch up on homework, meet with a teacher, sit outside, take a nap, or even go off campus. Beyond just having choices on how to spend your time in school, there is a huge club culture at CPS. We have clubs that focus on just about any imaginable theme! There are affinity groups, places where students of the same background can come together, sports related clubs, art clubs, food clubs, and much, much more. CPS is so great when it comes to growing as a leader by allowing students to express themselves in big and small ways.

 

What are you involved in on campus? I’m in Black Student Union, Feminist Union, Brunch Club, and I cook meals for unhoused folks with our Shelter club. I swam my freshman year and joined dance my sophomore year. I also started doing the drama productions my sophomore year after really enjoying beginning acting. I also use the school as a resource to volunteer. Student-led clubs allow me to give back to the Oakland community by doing community service hours at food drives or stocking up food fridges around Oakland. I also volunteered at Global Faire by displaying the history and cultural food of my east African heritage. All of my leadership and community building experiences at CPS have been such a blast and I’m so excited to engage even more in the future.

 

What has been your favorite class so far? Asian Worlds and Acting.

 

Asian worlds: I used to hate all history classes, I found them boring and was never engaged. Asian Worlds changed all that for me in ninth grade. I was always super interested in all the lectures, the way my teacher structured things was super effective holding our interest over our 75 minute class. It was definitely challenging, and my grades were never perfect, but the magic about it was that, even though I struggled for a bit, I was still so in love with the class that it didn’t bring down my spirits.

 

Acting: My teacher is such a gem and makes our class so fun. We get to be loose and goofy, but there is always an underlying structure to class. The students in my class made it so interesting. Most people weren’t friends beforehand, yet there was nothing awkward or uncomfortable about the dynamic of the class. We all grew closer in our two semesters together and felt comfortable taking risks and improvising together. 

 

What is your favorite thing about College Prep? The community at College Prep is my favorite thing. Everyone is actively engaged in the community which makes it such a joy to be a part of. Besides just being in clubs, being a good student, or being an artist, this school is also full of amazing people that make such amazing friends. It’s so easy to reach out to someone for anything you need, students and teachers both. 

 

1. I’m a fencer.

2. I hate chocolate.

3. I can fully understand my parents language but can’t speak it. It really pisses me off because I should be able to speak it but whenever they talk the words go in one ear, register into english, go out the other.