Five Questions with Sophia Paik
October 30, 2012
Q1: You are co-president of CSF and secretary for Key Club, amongst other board member positions. What is your main motivation to be involved in these clubs, especially as a board member?
A1: Well, for Key Club, I have compassion and the urge to serve the community. Ever since I was young, the community offered a lot of stuff to me. Like the Downey City Library offers the Summer Reading Program, and I always loved doing that. I feel like Downey offers so many things to us and it makes me want to give back. And for CSF, I did it for academic reasons, and I did it to help people see their academic goals and to help recognize their academic achievements.
Q2: As a Key Club board member, what do you hope to improve on in the club?
A2: First of all, I really want to see people get more involved. Right now, our club members aren’t as involved as I’d like them to be. They’ll come out to one or two events, and sometimes not even one event for a month. I want them to become more active, and not because it’ll look good for college. I mean, at first it’s not really bad if they’re doing it for college, but by the end I want them to be doing it because they genuinely want to give back to the community.
Q3: What initially interested you in Key Club?
A3: To be honest, my sister was president of Key Club, so that’s why I joined, even though I didn’t really know what it was at first. When I found out it was for community service I thought it was interesting to serve the community, and I thought it was a fun way to serve because in the process, you meet a lot of new people.
Q4: How do you juggle AP and honors classes and your club duties?
A4: It’s all about time management. Sometimes I procrastinate, but it really is about learning how to manage your time. And I think sleep deprivation plays a huge part, but I also think it’s worth it in the end.
Q5: Do you have any advice for future ambitious students?
A5: Just go for it, you know? High school only comes once, so you don’t want to miss the opportunities that it offers. Don’t just study because then you’re going to look back and regret it and ask yourself why you didn’t get involved in clubs. Really consider joining a club and especially a sport because I personally think that sports are a great way to meet people. So you should just go all out because it’s only four years and you’re only young once.

The staff member enjoys listening to indie and alternative rock. He is a big fan of the 80s band, The Smiths. Flores loves doing community service and is a member of the Key Club. The News Editor enjoys helping others and wants to help “beautify the community.” Flores has volunteered at recovery centers, like Rancho Los Amigos. He participated in a carnival for the disabled patients at the RLARC. “It was very eye-opening because you realize that they are incapable of doing much, but they never give up,” he said. Although Flores has a lot on his plate- being The Downey Legend’s News Editor, volunteering at rehabilitation centers, and succeeding in AP European History and Honors English 10- he will manage to stay on top of everything and make his sophomore year a memorable one.

Lozano wants to leave the classroom a better photographer, and wants to travel all over Europe someday. She always liked taking pictures and started show an interest for it because her best friend’s brother is a photographer. Her parents bought her a Canon Rebel T3 camera, giving her an even bigger interest in photography; she also grew closer to enjoying it more since she has always wanted a camera. Lozano is on the right path to achieving her goals by joining the newspaper, working hard to become a better photographer and Business Manager, and making this a successful year for The Downey Legend.
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