By: Elizabeth Elbakyan
Written: November 2, 2023
This student shining in our Student Spotlight is recognized as an extremely hardworking individual, who is an active participant of Grant life; her name is Nensi Hayostyan. Nensi is a driven senior in the CPDA Magnet, nominated for her high academics and ability to juggle several leadership positions, schoolwork, and extracurricular activities. Through this interview, readers can dig a little deeper into her successful high school career. Enjoy!
Tell us your name, your grade, and how long you have been attending Grant.
My name is Nensi Hayotsyan and I am currently a senior. I have been attending Grant for 4 years.
What are you involved in on campus? (Think about leadership roles, ASB, athletics, and clubs; tell us everything you are involved in or passionate about!)
I’m involved in quite a few activities on campus. To start, I’m involved in multiple clubs and organizations within Grant. Firstly, I am president of CPDA Magnet Leadership and attained this role after being vice president for 2 years. I am also President of CSF, the California Scholarship Federation, and have held officer positions in this organization since joining in 9th grade. Additionally, I founded/revived the school newspaper, The Odyssey, along with a friend in 10th grade and have been Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper ever since. I also founded Teen Court along with Ms. Johnson last year and have been serving as president for two years. Moreover, I’m currently co-president of the Armenian Club and have held several officer positions in the past 3 years. In addition, I co-founded and am co-president of the College Awareness Club and Model United Nations here on Campus. Aside from these clubs, I used to be on the Girl’s volleyball team in 10th grade but unfortunately had to stop due to academics. I was also a part of the school's Academic Decathlon team for 2 years and competed in several events with the team. Lastly, I have been serving on the School Site Council for 2 years now and held the position of vice-chairperson last year. Overall, I have enjoyed taking on these roles and hope to continue working alongside my classmates to make this a memorable school year!
How did you begin to get involved on campus?
Having started 9th grade fully online, I didn’t get involved on campus until I returned in person in 10th grade. I would say I’m naturally a person who always seeks out opportunities and ways to get involved and immediately after starting school, I ran for the vice-president position for Magnet Leadership. This was my first position on campus and I felt so inspired working with my fellow upperclassmen to organize and carry out events. Eventually, I started joining more clubs and it went from there. I realized that I enjoyed doing this and so I started taking on more roles and putting myself out there.
What do you love about Grant the most?
I love how supported I feel at Grant. I truly feel like the staff at Grant are genuinely the most supportive group of people and make sure that I feel heard and supported on campus. I recently felt so touched by our amazing principal Ms. McMurrin, who spared no effort to ensure that I felt seen and supported during the events taking place in my homeland. Aside from that, the staff is overall extremely positive and uplifting, making my high school experience truly unforgettable.
Who inspires you to be the best version of yourself? (family member, teacher, coach, friend?)
My mom inspires me to be the best version of myself. I will never understand how she always manages to do it all while being the most amazing and supportive person. My mom inspires me to work hard and dream big and I could have never done any of the things I’m doing without her support.
What are your future goals and aspirations? (high school and beyond?)
Looking to the future, I hope to go to a 4-year university and eventually attend law school, where I can explore all the different areas of law. My biggest overall goal is to become someone who never stops learning and never stops dreaming. Being a first-generation immigrant from Armenia, I hope to be able to give back to my country and community and to ensure that none of the opportunities that were given to me, go to waste. Lastly, I aspire to become someone who uses their voice to advocate for what’s right.
What advice would you give to a younger Lancer?
My advice for younger Lancers is to never tell yourself you can’t do anything. It might seem scary to take an extra AP class or run for a position in a club but as the famous saying goes: our biggest regrets in life tend not to be our failures but rather our missed opportunities. This may seem cliche but over the past 4 years, I’ve learned that the best thing you can do for yourself is to put yourself out there and give yourself a chance. You never know what you’re capable of until you try, so always advocate for yourself because you’re the only one who can determine your success.
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