Senior Spotlight

Hey Dragons! For the newest piece of Senior Spotlight, I had the opportunity to interview Gurmehar Bajwa.

Gurmehar Bajwa is a 17-year-old who has many hobbies and passions. He likes to drive when he gets the chance to, write for his automotive blog for DriveTribe, play video games with friends, watch Formula 1, and have a love for racing in general. He also likes to draw and loves photography. As for dislikes, he can’t stand onions and pineapple pizza. His passions include motor racing (mainly F1 and Endurance Racing), design, space/space exploration, physics, and automobiles. During quarantine, he picked up some new hobbies, such as sim-racing, drawing/sketching, and learning more about rocket science.

“Quarantine has made me appreciate things in life that I didn’t look at before, and of course, has allowed me to find new hobbies and such.”

Gurmehar’s plans after graduation are focusing on fields in automotive engineering and aerospace. Before that, his priority right now is to see which university he will attend. However, he hoped to work in either automotive engineering or space engineering (NASA, SpaceX, etc..) The reason why he chose those fields because he finds them to be the most interesting and fascinating areas. Physics and rockets are things that he loves, so he is considering going the aerospace route. However, the automobile industry is a strong contender.

“I want to go into a career that involves things that I am passionate about because then it doesn’t feel like a job; you’d love doing what you do, and the bonus part is that you get paid while doing it.”

He wishes to accomplish many things this year. Gurmehar continues to maintain his grades, GPA, etc... He also sets a goal to make sure he takes some rest to avoid burnout. He hopes to get into his dream university, drive more, and spend more quality time with his family.

For his senior year, he didn’t have many expectations because of the pandemic. He didn’t get the chance to go to school dances and never thought of going until prom last year. He hoped that we’d be able to attend on-campus during the spring semester but, due to the current circumstances, it ended up not happening. This year, he was hoping to hang out with his friends more, drive to and from school, and many other things. Staying optimistic, he hopes to have a graduation and that things turn for the better this upcoming summer.

“In the end, what’s most important is that we’re all safe and alive, but ending the senior year with more social highlights would’ve been a nice touch.”

Gurmehar’s experience at MCHS was life-changing for him. During his freshman year, he had the class of 2018 to thank for that. He adapted and learned how to become more positive and achieve his ambitions. Sophomore year was good for the most part, besides the workload. He was content and happy with his first two years at MCHS. The first half of Junior year was where he faced challenges academically and mentally. The spring semester encouraged him to push through those challenges and recollect himself to finish the year strong. Senior year was strange and a new environment for him with the lockdown and online classes. He appreciates the teachers for helping students and guiding us through these difficult times. He says he gained a lot of knowledge, grew a lot taller, and learned how to make the right choices for the most part. MCHS helped him find his paths easier because he had the chance to take college classes to find what best suits him.

“I think MCHS has definitely helped me become a significantly responsible student, or rather, a person in general just because of all the skills and habits you need to pick up from day one.”

His advice to the underclassmen is to go into everything with an open mind and try to look at things in a positive light. Just because you had a bad test score, forgot to turn in that assignment, or didn’t get the grade you wanted, doesn’t mean that you’re a failure. Keep trying and don’t give up because you will eventually accomplish your goals. Next, give yourself a break to relax from your studies, and it will pay off in the long run. Also, be responsible with your time and every choice you make. Lastly, don’t look back at your high school years with regret, such as not hanging out with your friends more or going to school events. High school is a short part of your life, so have fun while you're at it.