Local Editor
With four years of high school experience under his belt, senior Marco Palik possesses a clear plan for his future beyond Los Gatos High School.
In his final year at LGHS, Palik is taking six classes: AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature, Wind Ensemble, AP Government/Economics Honors, AP Statistics, and AP Physics C. To his surprise, Palik’s favorite course is by far AP English Literature, admitting, “At the beginning of senior year, I thought that AP English Literature would be the hardest class I would ever take in high school.” However, through exploring “literary devices and poetic devices and how they shape works of literature and poetry,” Palik discovered his appreciation for fiction, especially the works of Toni Morrison. When his teacher, Paris DeSoto, assigned Morrison’s Beloved, Palik took it upon himself to read the book four times. He reflected, “Every time I finished [Beloved], I just felt like I wanted to read through it again to catch any things I may have missed.” Even though he plans on pursuing STEM in the future, Palik’s experience in his senior year English class will continue to affect him for the rest of his life.
Between his analysis of creative writing and performances in band, Palik is truly a man of the arts. Almost every day, Palik wears his distinctive marching band jacket with pride around LGHS. Back in 2013, Palik picked up the trumpet, which he would continue to play until 2021 when former LGHS band director Andrew Hill convinced him to switch instruments. Now, Palik plays the euphonium in Wind Ensemble, the most advanced band class at LGHS. Furthermore, after his fourth and final marching band season at LGHS, Palik reveled in “how fulfilling it feels at the end of the day to commit to such a task that most people would think, ‘why even bother committing to that?’”
As graduation approaches, Palik’s professional goals are starting to take shape. This fall, he will begin the next chapter of his life at UC Berkeley, majoring in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. However, his educational journey will not stop there; Palik plans on attending medical school and pursuing a career in neuroscience biotechnology. Specifically, his goal is “to develop a new software, create new machinery, or innovate [on existing] machinery… something that can help reduce the impact of brain disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.” With such aspirations in mind, Palik intends to work hard and pursue as many internships and career opportunities as possible. In tandem with a dedicated work ethic, he strongly advocated for LGHS students to prioritize a balanced lifestyle: “simply driving yourself to a breaking point all for a university or just any achievement in general just isn’t as worth it as you think, and that’s coming from a UC Berkeley student.”
From his past adventures in band to his future prospects in the medical field, Palik’s journey has only just begun.
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