When he’s with his friends, Jay Menon (12) speaks quickly, delivering concise, acerbic remarks by the minute, then laughing assuredly at his friends’ responses, a confident, calm smile on his face. He speaks his mind, as he always does, but considers his replies before he retorts.

Though Jay’s candid nature captured Suraj Pakala’s (12) attention in 6th grade, they did not become friends until 7th grade, when they bonded over shared classes, such as P.E. Since then, Suraj has been able to depend on Jay.

“I can always place my trust in him and not be judged for whatever I say,” Suraj said.

Jason Huang (12) has had a similar experience with Jay, getting to know him as a trustworthy, loyal person who is willing to support his friends, even when they make poor choices.

“He’ll tell you that you’re dumb, and he’ll tell you’re completely wrong, but the moment that you need him to step up for you, he’ll do that,” Jason said.

Jay’s frankness also shows itself when those around him are going through more difficult times. Devanshi Mehta (12), who met Jay in her 8th grade Biology class, knows him to be consoling in an unconventional way.

“He has this way of being kind of comforting but in a health-check kind of way. He won’t give you, ‘Oh, everything’s always going to be okay’,” Devanshi said. “If my life is falling apart, he will be like, ‘Devanshi, get your stuff together’.”

To Devanshi, Jay’s ability to comfort by focusing on the facts of the problem at hand rather than sentiment is an important quality for a friend to have.

“If friends only tell you what you want to hear all the time, they’re not really your friends because they don’t want what’s best for you,” Devanshi said.

In addition to Jay’s reliable nature, Jay’s rational approach to discourse has also become apparent to his friends.

“I really respect how he prioritizes negotiating, compromising, with other people,” Jason said.

Though Jay is quick to speak, he doesn’t spew information without considering it first; for example, Jay bases his arguments on facts at the Political Roundtable, a lunchtime meet-up where students can discuss topical political issues, organized by Jason.

“One thing I’ve noticed about Jay is that everything he says has actual evidence behind it. Even in arguments, he gets into with about people or social arguments, he won’t say something unless there are facts behind it, whereas other people will say some things just to win,” Suraj said.

Logic and reasoning are a significant part of Jay’s worldview. His commitments both inside and outside of school are data-driven, emphasizing research; for instance, Jay is currently doing a data science internship at El Camino hospital.

A fan of politics, Jay also tracks current events and collects information about them.

“It’s very obvious that he cares a lot about his community and about being an active member,” Jason said.

He approaches controversial issues in the news methodically, looking at non-partisan sources of information first to avoid confirmation bias.

“I don’t like just sticking to one news source, even if I really disagree with a news source, even if they’re completely ridiculous, I’ll still read them to see what they have to say,” Jay said.

According to Jay, a lot of people tend to base their opinions on their own sentiment or that of those surrounding them. Instead, Jay thinks that it’s best to see the data before choosing a side.

“Whatever side of the political spectrum you fall under, a lot of things you might think are true are not true if you delve a little deeper,” Jay said. “It doesn’t mean you stop supporting whatever you support, I think it’s more important, but I think you sound more educated with you present a point with evidence to back it up.”