Seniors of CPS: Bernice A.

Interview conducted by Eileen H.

Eileen: Hi Bernice, welcome to your Seniors of CPS interview. How are you doing?

Bernice: Hi Eileen, I'm doing delightful today. How about yourself?

Eileen: I'm doing really well, thank you! Okay, so we're gonna get started with a rapid-fire round of questions. You ready? 

Bernice: Yeah!

Eileen: Gym deck, or Student Commons?

Bernice: Definitely the gym deck. The Student Commons was once a scary place filled with upperclassmen, and it's kind of stayed that way in my head.

Eileen: Even now that you’re an upperclassman?

Bernice: Yeah…

Eileen: Okay, fair enough. Favorite Trader Joe's snack?

Bernice: Oh, the Takis, for sure. I don't know what they're actually called–

Eileen: – Chili Lime Rolled –

Bernice: – The chili lime rolled something cracker things, because we eat them a lot during our Wednesday dance rehearsals, and I think I've also associated a lot of good memories with the snack.

Eileen: That makes a lot of sense. Freshman Physics or Asian Worlds?

Bernice: That's really hard, because I feel like I would consider myself to be a science kid, but honestly, Asian Worlds. I had so much fun in the class. It was where I felt that the transition into CPS was fun and engaging.

Eileen: Okay, favorite department at CPS? 

Bernice: Science, Science! Love Science.

Eileen: Now we're going to get into some more long-form questions. So first is, what has been your favorite CPS class, and why?

Bernice: My favorite class in CPS has definitely been STEM [Research Program]. It's two classes, Part One, Part Two, but I just had so much fun with a small cohort where we were able to nerd out about science, and I was able to explore so many different topics. And I think that being with such a small group allowed me to feel more confident, even like raising my hand in class, and I think it even helped me refine career choices that I might want to pursue in the future.

Eileen: Wow. Okay, and what's something that not a lot of people at CPS know about you?

Bernice: I think not a lot of people at CPS know about my language pursuits. I actually really enjoy – I take Chinese at CPS. I'm currently in Chinese IV, and so I've been taking it since freshman year. And there are some friends that I speak to solely in Chinese. Sometimes I speak to you in Chinese, Lexi, Allison –

Eileen: – Yes, true, I can confirm that! –

Bernice: – Michelle, William! So, that's been fun. And I also have been learning Korean since sixth grade. So I can speak, read and write. I can speak conversationally, like I could definitely get around. And I currently have a tutor who I talk to on the phone every few weeks. So yeah, it's been fun!

Eileen: Wow, and what's one of your favorite CPS memories?

Bernice: One of my favorite CPS memories has to be the 2024 CHOREO series. I've participated in CHOREO since my freshman year, but that year, I choreographed my own piece for the first time, and it was a new experience, and I got to really bond with my friends in doing something that I love.

Eileen: If you could give advice to your freshman yourself, what would it be?

Bernice: if I can give advice to my freshman year self… There isn't anything that I would want to change about my freshman year, so I wouldn't give a warning, but I think rather as reassurance, I’d tell my freshman self just like, “keep doing what you're doing and everything's going to pan out.” Because I feel like we as humans tend to worry so much about the future, but looking back at the past four years at CPS has made me realize that I'm really glad about the choices I made, and I'm happy to be where I am right now, so just go with the flow.

Eileen: Yeah. Okay. If you could say thank you to one room at CPS, which would it mean, and why? 

Bernice: I definitely have to say thank you to the Dance Studio. I participated in the dance program all four years at high school, so it does feel the most familiar and the most constant. It's a place I return to pretty much every day, and not only is it a space to like, do what I love and dance, but I feel like it's a really good place where I've made a lot of fun memories with my friends, because they even have mats in the dance room. So you can lie down and relax.

Eileen: Yeah, thank you. Last question: Okay, where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Bernice: I definitely want to be traveling. I'm thinking that in college, I want to, you know, major in either like, you know, business or science or anything like that. But I definitely want to also study languages. And so in five years, I hope to have improved a lot in my language skills and be traveling in Asia and using those language skills to communicate with people from all around the world.

Eileen: Thank you so much for those thoughtful answers. That concludes our interview. Thank you very much for your time!

Bernice: Thank you, Eileen. Yay!!!