STANWOOD — Jack Softcheck, 18, of Camano Island, is a senior at Stanwood High School. His two main interests are science and music, and he’s bound for Yale University, where he hopes to find time to study both.
Question: Tell me about your classes and activities.
Answer: I’m in choir. I’m currently in the school musical (“Fiddler on the Roof”). I’m a member of the Hi-Q and Knowledge Bowl team. In terms of classes, I’m in AP physics, AP chemistry. It’s mostly science. I do a lot of science activities.
Q: Music and science. That’s an interesting mix.
A: Yeah. Those are my two favorite things. Music and science, or math. It is an interesting mix. It can be hard to figure out what to do.
Q: How did you get into music?
A: I just always liked rock music and my mom bought me a guitar when I was in middle school. I would play guitar with my brothers. I enjoyed singing and then when I got to high school I took choir and started learning more about technique and classical music and jazz. I got really into those styles.
Q: On the science end of things, what are your main interests?
A: It’s really broad. I love learning everything about science. I guess my favorite science would be physics or biology. I just think they’re both very interesting, just to learn how the world works in an objective, quantitative way.
Q: Have you decided what you hope to do after high school?
A: I’m kind of in a mix between science and music. If it’s possible, I’ll try to pursue both of them. Hopefully that will work.
Q: Are you planning to go to college?
A: Yeah, I am.
Q: Any schools in mind?
A: Well, I got accepted to Yale in November. As long as I graduate, I’m going there.
Q: Why Yale?
A: I like the environment a lot. I went there and people were very nice, and they’re well known for their music as well as their science, so I thought it would be a great place to try to pursue both of those.
Q: What careers have you thought about?
A: Possibly a medical doctor.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I usually play music, hang out with friends, watch TV shows, read books. Normal things.
Q: What do you think has been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome?
A: In tenth grade, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. I had to have my colon removed that year. It was a three-surgery process, so I had to be gone from school quite a bit. It was difficult to be away from everything and have a less regular schedule.
Q: What would your advice be to other students?
A: Just do everything. Do what you want. When I was a freshman, I feel like I was slightly hesitant to do everything. Maybe there’s not enough time or you’ll be judged for some of the things you do. But I’d say just do everything you can because you’ll regret the things you decide not to do.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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