By: Tony Nguyen

San Jose, Calif—Brian Merino is a senior at Silver Creek High School. He is a transfer student, and he has made many accomplishments and memories throughout this high school year. 

Merino transferred to Silver Creek High School in his Junior year, and he has previously transferred to two schools before arriving at Silver Creek. He stated that throughout his time at Silver Creek, his favorite event was going to prom, it was a once in a lifetime experience for him, and he get to hang out with all his friends, and the variety of activities that it brang also give him a lot of joy, and it an event he would recommend to all Juniors. He also gathered many memories throughout his year in High School, and some would become his favorite, such as when he was in a gaming club during his freshman year, and he got into a Super Smash Bros Tournament, he got on the semi-final round while playing in the tournament he heard people cheering for him, and it made him happy. Or when he was able to deadlift 295 pounds, he was able to make a lot of progress since the start of the school year, when he was only able to deadlift 135 pounds. 

His biggest accomplishment this year was getting his driver’s license because that meant that he would be able to go anywhere he wanted, and hang out with friends and people he couldn’t hang out with before because of the limited transportation, getting a driver’s license opened a new gate of experiences for him, as he would be able to go to many cool places with his friends, such as Santa Cruz, K1, San Francisco, and so on. This has helped him gain even more unforgettable memories.

Merino will soon graduate, he plans to head to a community college for software engineering, and then transfer to SJSU or SFSU, as it would help him in pursuing his career. With his graduation coming soon, something he will miss from high school is the minor responsibility, he stated that once he graduates he is going to take full responsibility for everything. He will also miss everything in high school in general, as it was a place where you were able to meet many people and form long-lasting relationships, which is how Merino was able to meet many of his friends. Although he transferred twice, he still kept in touch with some of his previous friends, to him a high school is a great place where people can explore what they want to do, and what to do with their future. As a senior, some advice he has for freshmen is to not slack off in their first year, as it often becomes a bad habit, he also advises them to use google calendar for important dates, last advice he has is to be involved with as many school activities as possible, as high school is an amazing place and it’s a once in a lifetime experience, so try to enjoy it and not waste your time by doing nothing.

Outside of school Merino also has some hobbies, such as working out. Working out helped increase his physical and mental health, and is a way for him to deal with stress Aside from working out Merino enjoys doing culinary, as he is the culinary club, and he has done culinary since middle school. He said that he enjoys the idea of making food, and he also likes to see the result of his effort and try out new food ideas. He also gained experience in culinary from helping his mom for 2 years, who sells cakes, Choco-fans, tamales, and bread. He started helping his mom because he loves decorating food and making them look good and tasty.