The fluorescent lighting in computer science department chair and science teacher Dr. Eric Nelson’s room illuminates the presentation on the screen as Angela Jia (12) announces the start of the Robotics kickoff.

Starting out by chance in a weeklong Robotics workshop the summer before ninth grade, Angela looked around a room filled with prospective students yet barely any girls. By merit of gender disparity, she joined the software team for familiar faces and the power to control the robot’s coding. Although she had yet to revel in the triumphs of 2020 FRC 1072 robot Rat King or 2019 predecessor Altair, Angela found herself captivated by the opportunity to test on the small robots during the training week. As a co-vice president of the software team in her sophomore year, she navigated the balance between exercising control over the project and perceptions of her as an overly strict mentor while fielding feedback of “not bringing enough to the table.”

“It was a really good learning curve,” Angela said. “It’s really helped in that I want to be that mentor figure that I felt like I missed out on a little bit, like making sure the underclassmen feel supported and included.”

Now the executive president of Robotics, Angela coordinates with co-presidents Gloria Zhu (12) and Ethan Cao (12) to create a support system for the new team and create a space for club members to feel comfortable approaching leadership. Having felt the loneliness of solving problems in solitude, Angela reaches out to prevent others from feeling the same burden.

“She was always willing to help me out, answer questions if I didn’t know something, and be there as someone to talk to or turn to,” Gloria said. “She’s always been quite outspoken, and I look up to her confidence to be able to say what she wants without being insecure about it.”

Angela’s ability to communicate with every member of Robotics stems from her love of languages. Having studied Latin since sixth grade, she loved the camaraderie of the smaller classes and beauty of conveying meaning through language, classical or code. The lure of seeking connection, of choosing the right language to analyze dactylic hexameter or create quantum computers demands her devotion and allows Angela to perceive her place in the world through an interdisciplinary lens.

“I want to know what I’m here for and what the world is and what my place in the world is,” she said. “Physics and philosophy are twin paths for that goal. Being able to get more diversity in [science], drawing connections to different experiences like entanglement and intersectionality, I think that’s really powerful to unite understanding across fields.”

Now taking post-AP Latin courses, she infuses the classroom with her curiosity. As the only senior in the class, she engages with junior classmates in interpreting translations, imparting her own knowledge while offering a space for discussion. For Angela, lightbulb moments abound, from discovering the etymology behind the word “umbrella” to understanding the punchline of Latin, history and social science teacher Clifford Hull’s jokes.

“The other students look up to her,” Hull said. “Honestly, I can see that they like her a lot, they respect her a lot for her knowledge but also for her humanity and kindness. She just really portrays that she’s a happy soul. To me, just to see that excitement on her face and enthusiasm – that’s really what I teach.”

Through her study of languages, Angela seeks to understand herself. Like unraveling a complex system of equations, she uncovers her beliefs and vocation through introspection. At the start of the school year, Angela started journaling her stream of consciousness, from favorite words such as “mellifluous” and “fulminate” to quantum properties.

“It’s kind of like dried paint, where it’s half-formed and dried on the paper, and then I can come back and pipette it with water,” she said. “That journal was where I have a lot of what I learned along the way, like connecting between different disciplines, introspecting on my own life, often half-formed.”

Angela’s open mentality toward absorbing new knowledge comes from her family background. Raised with an emphasis on continuous growth, she embraces learning as a marker of progress. The surrounding innovation of Silicon Valley and the work of surrounding peers pushes Angela to also pursue her own interests. Michael Tran (12), who first became friends with Angela during a group project in the Principles of Business class, notes her ability to juggle her responsibilities while providing camaraderie through deadline nights.

“We always end up in the same boat, and having that support from being on a call together, being productive, has always been helpful,” Michael said. “Angela is super fun to be around, and she brings so much more than just her hard work and that intelligence. She’s very vocal and always a very consistent participant in discussions.”

Despite her various workloads, Angela retains her humor and confidence. From bringing erudite concepts into everyday conversation to her infamously carefree laughter, she provides candid yet accepting company.

“She’s always very affirming, and she gives you advice that is real,” close friend Alysa Suleiman (12) said. “She gives really positive advice, and it’s always advice that is true. She’s always really honest and won’t sugarcoat things, but she’s also very supportive, and that’s a really good balance.”

Along with advice comes the value of a conversation with Angela, a process she views as a two-sided exchange of passions and inspiration. She cherishes watching others light up with fondness for a subject they love and passes on this sympathy by teaching her peers to learn from each other, whether it be through robotics, assisting other high school research interns or sharing knowledge in Latin class.

“Everything is a balance of giving and taking,” Angela said. “Giving to other people gives you the value of a relationship with other people. And I think that’s what I really value is being able to be myself with others.”

As the afternoon light fades over the quad, Angela looks ahead to a future of uncovering more of her identity, of pipetting water into her partially formed identity until it melts into a painting.

“What I learned along the way, I don’t know if I have a coherent answer to that,” Angela said. “I know I’m learning, but I need to figure out what I’m learning.”