Matt Olson

After a placing seventeenth out of two hundred teams in the National Academic Quiz Tournament (NAQT) aka Quiz Bowl High School National Championship, BHS senior, Matthew Olson is ready to take the momentum into the rest of the year — “I am hella excited for college, and for summer,” he said.

Although he will be moving on and attending Stanford University in the fall, departing high school will be bittersweet for Matthew.

Being a part of the first Berkeley International High School (BIHS) class, Matthew appreciates all that the International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers and community have done for him and his classmates. “Mr. Parker and Mr. Meyers are a few of the great teachers I’ve had. In general all of the IB teachers are pretty dope.” However, no teacher has had more of an effect on Matthew then his Latin teacher of the last four years, Karla Herndon. “She’s the best of the best.”
Herndon had complimentary things to say in return. “Matt Olson knows Latin better than I do. He’s an astonishment, a novus stupor mundi!” Herndon explained. “He never forgets anything.”

Berkeley High School itself for Matthew has been just as pleasing as its staff, “They have classes that challenge you … you’re not ever bored, with nothing to do.” As well as being an accomplished student, Matthew is very active in the sports offered at BHS. “I had fun on the soccer team over the years,” he reminisced.

Matthew has fond memories of BHS. From the “Latin field trips to see plays” to the BIHS class trip to Mexico, BHS has been an experience he’ll never forget. “At Berkeley High School you have to take your own. Nobody is else is going to do it for you.” Additionally, the unique diversity at BHS also helped Matthew along the way, “At BHS you interact with a lot of different people … it will be weird not to see the same people. There is a lot of camaraderie in the IB community.”

Though senior year may seem at a glance like a lot of laid-back activities, for Matthew the first part of the year was challenging, “First semester was really stressful. Turning in college application was difficult … but second semester got easier, just waited for responses back from colleges.” Although Matthew got early admissions into Stanford made Matthew’s choice easier. Though he did consider Harvard and Rice once he got accepted into them earlier in April.
Overall Berkeley High has been a great place for Matthew, “Its pretty much perfect for students that want to try new things … it gave me the ability to be well rounded.” There are still things that Matthew would love to do at BHS, “I wouldn’t mind doing another year of high school, but college is another good option.”

Photos:

• Matt Olson