Andrew's CAS

After visiting the vet, it turns out my dog is a bit overweight due to being fed much more than she should have. To rectify this, in addition to a smaller portion of food, I have decided to begin taking responsibility of walking the dog and doing more often per day than what my family was doing before. I hope that with this plan in the next few months there will be benefits for my dog and for myself as we both embark (haha) on a path towards increased exercise.

The musical went really well on Thursday with Colonel Mustard brandishing the revolver and the lights going on and off when they were supposed to. It was an interesting experience being behind the scenes during the actual performance especially since this was the real deal now and any noise I made while crawling behind the set could distract someone in the audience. It has been an overall enlightening experience with my involvement in theater, which I previously discounted as something I was only interested in consuming than producing. The necessity for each person involved to work together and do their part for the entire production to work brings this new appreciation for the larger and grander plays I see. Everything seemed to go well and I have to give thanks to all the hard work that the actors put in as well as the rest of the crew.

Everyone came into the theater over the weekend to set up the lights and set for the dress rehearsals and the final performance at the end of the week. It has been really interesting seeing everything slowly but surely come together. Jack and Connor M are in charge of the lighting effects and changes that will occur throughout the musical and I helped them set up the direction, the orientation, and the gels to change the color of the lights. This was much more difficult the I imagined as we had to work within the limitations of the number of lights as well as where they were positioned. It took some trial and error, but eventually we got it positioned and set the way we wanted it for the show. There is also a switchboard that operates all of the lights at the theater and which looks to be extremely complicated, but it seems that the two have it figured out or at least will have it all figured out by the show. I am getting pretty excited for the actual performance as everything is comin...

Over the past few days I have been working with Brandon, Leighla, Ms. Bowman and the cast on rehearsing the lines and staging in the musical. I have learned more of the great amount of work that goes into these productions, but have had a lot of fun so far seeing the actors improve and remember more and more of their lines and steps. A difficulty so far has been trying to get everyone to attend rehearsal at the same time as often times there is one member (there only eight characters, so each person has a large part) who is not able to make one day and Brandon or I have to fill in. I have been on book most of the time so far and have had to make sure that I am paying attention to what is being said and to quickly infer if an actor has forgotten something and needs a slight push or if they have it but need a little more time to remember. Also while paying attention to the actors, I would occasionally lose my place on the page and have to quickly find it again in order to move on. This w...

I have recently just joined my schools theater production of Clue the Musical. Acting is not my forte, but I was able to be a part of this school activity as a member of the cast as the Assistant Stage Manager. I decided to join this production because in previous years at the school since I was an infant I there had been a production that would feature the entire class or school where everyone would take part. As a whole I enjoy this creation and process of these productions and being able to see the everything come together at the end, so I decided to be a part of it. It was also encouraging that I knew many people involved with the Clue  production and once I expressed an interest they ensured I went through with it. 

I have participated in programs at the Asia Society in the past and really enjoy the programs and facilities they have and offer. I volunteered for their Diwali family day   and this was my first time volunteering for them. I went with a few my friends as they made a request for more volunteers. We manned the stick puppet booth and had mainly kids, unsurprisingly, come. It was extremely enjoyable to see them come and watch them draw both inside and outside the predetermined lines. The puppets were of Rama and Sita, but it was up to the kids to choose what color they would be that day. I had a good time helping out at the event and doing it with my friends. 

In the past month there has been multiple hurricanes that has left destruction and devastation in their paths. First, there was Hurricane Harvey which effected my hometown. I found the reaction from across the nation to this disaster to be amazing as people from all parts of Houston and around the nation came to volunteer and help those who were greatly affected. I was fortunate during this disaster to be safe and undamaged during the storm, and because of my position I wanted to help those who were greater affected during this natural disaster. After Maria and Irma struck the United States Virgin Islands, I was personally involved as my grandparents lived through the power outages and devastation it brought, having to live without power or easily accessible resources but they were safe and their home without major damage due to the storm. I decided to create a campaign to raise funds for the Island, specifically helping the Virgin Island Montessori School as I had been connected w...

I have been invited to attend the Montessori United Nations Bureau as a Chair. This position means I will be leading a committee of around a hundred delegates, or students, during the annual conference held in New York in February. There was over a thousands students from almost every continent that came last year, so I am excited to see some of the people from years past as well as meet new people who could come from anywhere in in the world. This is going to be my first year serving in this particular leadership position where I am the one who is in charge of the committee. I am slightly nervous of that fact, but am nonetheless honored and excited for this new experience.

I have been interested in photography for a few years now and am now excited to be learning more about this hobby with fellow classmates in the Photography Club. We recently had someone from the Houston Center for Photography come in and teach the club some of the basics of photography such as framing and composition. This has been interesting and while I see this information helping my photography skills, it is the same framing concepts as I learned in my previous filmmaking experience. Specifically the rule of thirds was a familiar concept and I enjoyed learning more about how to better distribute colors and putting focus on the subject. After the lesson the club and I put these skills into practice by going to the local park and attempting to use aspects of what we learned. I tried contrasting the trees and buildings with the sky as well as choosing bold colors through the flowers that grew on the bushes along the park. I cannot wait to continue taking photos within my free time a...

Since the fourth grade I have been involved with the Montessori Model Untied Nations (MMUN) program at my school and have continued my involvement through high school as an assistant instructor. I have been interested in doing this as I attribute MMUN with the growth of many skills, like public speaking and global awareness, which I value greatly today and wanted to ensure other students have the opportunity to have an even greater and fulfilling time then I had. I always remember one of my old teacher's saying that one only truly master something when they are able to teach it and by aiding the MMUN program I will be able to pass along a great experience and personally improve the same skills that the the program gave me.