By: Esha Bagora

Media Production Editor

Senior Tanya Goel is nothing short of extraordinary. Whether she’s on stage singing her heart out, researching cancer biology, or dominating the New York Times games, Goel is always on her A-game. 

Goel’s extensive theater background began when she was six years old. After playing one of Ariel’s sisters in Little Mermaid Jr., her passion was born. She elaborated, “I remember we got to wear these fake mermaid tails, and I loved it.” 

This past summer, she played the roles of Roger’s mom, Pam, and a Bohemian in Rent, a musical about the AIDS epidemic in the late 90s. Goel described her favorite memories from the production, saying, “The dance numbers were a lot of fun because all of us kind of sucked at dancing so it was an interesting experience trying to learn all the complicated dances.” 

Besides acting, singing onstage is another one of Goel’s strong suits. As the current co-president of LGHS’s acapella club, Goel has big plans. This season, she hopes to engage her club in holiday promenades or in Christmas caroling. On Oct. 11, the club made their debut at the LGHS choir concert. She mentioned, “We’re the biggest we’ve ever been in the three years that I’ve been in the [Acapella] club, which I think is really great.”

 In addition to leading the Acapella team, Goel was a part of the Northern California Regional Choir. After an intensive audition process, Goel said, “I felt good and it was such a cool experience. It was nice to actually get the opportunity after the long process.” Though Goel has been singing formally since fifth grade and plans to vocal-direct a few musicals for the West Valley Youth theater, she doesn’t see herself making a career out of it. Goel’s true career aspirations lie in the realm of biology. 

Goel was accepted into the prestigious California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science during the summer after her sophomore year. She worked at the University of California, Irvine, researching colon cancer. Explaining how her love for biology was sparked, Goel detailed, “In freshman year, I took Bio honors. Before that, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but I really really enjoyed that class, so I was like ‘Maybe I’ll explore biology some more,’ and then took it from there.” 

Goel’s favorite hobby is winning each and every one of the New York Times’ daily games and puzzles. Her favorite game is  “Connections, because it’s super fun to try and think of obscure categories that the words can fit into.” While she may often find herself caught up in Connections, her biggest saver (and best advice) when it comes to balancing out all of her activities is making to-do lists. She elaborates, ” If I don’t check things off, then I’d feel bad, so I have to check everything off.” 

All in all, Goel is a force to be reckoned with, regardless of the activity she participates in. Keep an eye out for her as she leaves LGHS and continues to grow and expand her hobbies in college.