[Feature] Senior Stories: Alex Wu

Alex Wu is a seventeen year old senior at Community Health Academy of the Heights. He resides in Washington Heights with his Mom, Dad, and Grandmother. In his free time, Wu enjoys going to the gym, hanging out with friends, and eating. I got the pleasure of interviewing Wu today and here is his senior story:

The most important lesson that Wu has learned in high school is that your primary focus should not be fitting in when you were born to stand out. “As an Asian American myself, growing up in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood, I’ve tried really hard to fit in and it never turned out well,” Wu said. When “hopping” from friend group to friend group searching for a sense of community and solace, Wu found the opposite. He learned that in order to find your people, you must first find yourself, and that is what he would tell his freshman year self if he had the chance.

Wu’s dream career is to work at a big engineering firm as a software engineer because they “make the most money” and are very lenient with their form of work in terms of having the freedom to choose the location in which he works and how he works. He is excited to follow this dream, along with the lifelong one of living lavishly in a New York City penthouse.

As you may know, seniors get the choice of going outside of the building for lunch. When asked where Alex enjoys his lunch the most he replied with “McDonalds, for sure,” as well as Chipotle and Galaxy Deli down the hill. Yet he makes it clear that nothing tops the steak grilled cheese burrito from Taco Bell, which is a meal he would eat every day if possible.

There are a few friendships that Wu will cherish forever, even after he leaves CHAH. First, his friendship with his best friend Nia is very important to him. They have known each other since kindergarten and spent the summer together in a college readiness program at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Second, he mentions Aidan because they spend lots of time together creating memories and have formed a strong “bromance”. He goes on to mention Kaitlyn, Rafael, Bryan, Jordan, Jireh, and “…you know what, everyone.”

Finally, Wu wants to shout out Mr. Hussein for being a great teacher and supporting him during one of the most stressful times of his life: junior year. “My friends and I spent a lot of time in his classroom whether it was to play board games everyday during lunch or laughing about the latest joke. I want to thank you for being a great teacher and a great person in general.”