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MCHS Valedictorians: Austin Siegemund-Broka

Students with cumulative GPAs of 4.0 are named valedictorians at Mira Costa High School. This year, we salute 16 students. Check back in the coming days to read about their accomplishments, passions and college plans.

Austin Siegemund-Broka talks about writing for the Mira Costa High School newspaper La Vista and serving as editor-in-chief his senior year. The budding journalist is anxious to move to Boston, where he will attend Harvard in the fall.

Patch: Where are you going for college?

AS: I will be going to Harvard next year… I couldn't be more thrilled. When I was admitted I knew it would be an amazing opportunity, through and through. As I am a little undecided on what I actually plan on studying, although I'm set on something in the humanities, I was drawn in by Harvard's excellent rigor and bright future in literally any field a student could pursue.

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Patch: What specific fields within humanities are you drawn to?

AS: My interests range from literature and English, which I would study so I could pursue a career in journalism or creative writing or screenwriting, to media and sociology, to history and cultural anthropology. Which of these fields I will choose, and how I may blend and utilize them, is something I have yet to figure out.

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Patch: What are you looking forward to most in college?

AS: I look forward to being able to take much deeper looks at the subjects that interest me, and to have the time, energy and opportunities to use what I discover in making my own contributions to the world. Basically, I look forward to more self-direction in my learning and how I use what I learn. Also, being in Boston sounds absolutely great. 

Patch: What activities or sports were you involved in at Mira Costa?

AS: At Costa, my thing was journalism. I was in the video production and broadcast journalism program and was nominated for national awards for my work there, although sadly, this year scheduling conflicts forced me to drop it. And I was in the print journalism program for my entire four years. As a sophomore I was the features section editor of the school paper, La Vista, and from then on I developed an unwavering love for the paper and the service it provides for the community. Junior year I was entertainment section editor, and senior year I was editor-in-chief.

Patch: What did you like most about working for the paper?

AS: Teaching younger writers and editors on La Vista this year. The editor-in-chief job was a very difficult one, full of tasks I didn't particularly love such as filing and making lists, but it also included the joy of teaching. In helping editors and writers make pages, communicate with each other, edit stories, fix the computer, or resolve deadline issues, I was continually impressed by how bright and dedicated all of them were. 

Patch: Any advice to offer students at Mira Costa, especially incoming seniors?

AS: My advice to students of all levels, seniors in particular, is simply to work hard. I have no qualms about saying I am not the most blindingly brilliant genius to come out of Mira Costa, not the highest SAT scorer, not the most prolific athlete or even the most accomplished journalist, but I know I have gotten where I am because I have worked very hard when I knew I had to. Not only has that paid off in (being accepted to) Harvard, but it has also given me a deep personal pride.

Patch: What will you be glad to leave behind, either about Costa or about high school in general?

AS: What I will be the most glad to leave behind will be the simple numbers-on-a-chart goals that bind one's high school experience. It has been difficult to constrain myself to a steady diet of APs and 8-hour schooldays at times when I feel I need a more in-depth study of material to truly make good use of it. Some classes have afforded this, but the structured nature of high school's routines has sometimes actually felt detrimental to true learning and development. Oh well, that's what college is for.  

Patch: What was the best thing about Mira Costa? Do you have a favorite memory?

AS: The best thing about Mira Costa, honestly, is when you get a teacher with whom you really connect. I've been fortunate enough to have many of those, actually. My other favorite memories are those of working on La Vista, in both an editorial and a managerial capacity… It's been incredibly difficult at times, but knowing I am putting out a uniquely beneficial product, and teaching others to do the same now that I am gone, is a deeply rewarding feeling.

Patch: Which teachers did you really connect with?

AS: I simply must mention Mrs. Dawn Curry, my 5th grade history teacher, who turned me 180-degrees from disliking history to loving it ... Ms. Shannon Vaughan, my freshman English teacher, opened my mind up for the first time to how symbols, diction and other literary elements could be used alongside plot to weave themes, emotions and ideas deep into a story's core. Mr. Alan Zeoli, my senior year English teacher, then expanded that mindset even further, introducing philosophy into literature as well as teaching me for the first time effective ways to understand the messages infused into poetry. Finally, I must give credit to my journalism adviser Mr. Mike McAvin, who taught me almost everything I know about journalistic story format, journalistic integrity and merit, and management of a newspaper.

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