Massachusetts to California. Boarding school to day school. New students, new clubs, new everything, all in junior year. For many people, this situation would be overwhelming. But for senior Mia Kister, it was a reality she had to adapt to, adjusting to new extracurriculars and bonding with classmates over the summer AP Biology course. With persistence and passion, Mia carves out a space for herself in the community, approaching obstacles with a willingness to listen.

After transferring to Harker in her junior year, Mia struggled to find new activities to join. Many of her extracurriculars at her old school, such as Harvard Model Congress, were not offered here. However, she joined Harker’s Model UN because it was similar to Model Congress and now pushes to allocate funds to specific causes, such as AI, as part of the World Bank Committee.

“I’m more open to trying things,” Mia said. “Even if I know that I’m going to be bad at it, I just do things for fun and do things for myself. I’m a lot more open minded in general to other people’s opinions and ideas, and Model UN and history classes have definitely opened that. Learning about these topics can be educational. You’re also learning more about how to work with other people.”

To lessen her anxiety of public speaking, Mia joins smaller, tight-knit committees. At the end of presenting resolutions, voting on ideas and compromising between opposing viewpoints during conferences, she and her fellow Model UN presenters form close connections despite only working together for two or three days.

“Everyone there is friendly,” Mia said. “Even though it’s a debate or a competition, everyone is respectful towards each other. No one will say, ‘Oh, your idea sucks.’ You can tell that people put in effort to listen to other people and hear them out. And even though part of it is debating each other, there’s still a lot of teamwork involved.”

Aside from advocating for social issues through Model UN, Mia also contributes to her local community. Through helping transport wheelchair-bound patients at a veterans’ hospital, she directly engages with social justice issues such as the government’s treatment of veterans.

“My grandpa was a veteran, and it’s nice to know that I’m giving back to the veteran community,” Mia said. “They have a lot of stories and it’s really interesting to hear about their perspectives since most of them aren’t from California. A lot of them have put their lives on the line, but they’re still struggling, even though they gave up so much for America.”

Close friend senior Sofia Shah met Mia through mutual friends in junior year and immediately noticed Mia’s ability to put anyone at ease. She learned that Mia was a devoted fan of the alternative rock band Wallows, which neither Sofia nor their other friends had heard of. Later, Sofia began to appreciate Mia’s enthusiasm and commitment to topics important to her.

“For things that she really cares about, she’s super passionate,” Sofia said. “For Wallows, she’s one of their biggest fans and she’s gone to many different concerts for them. She’s a peacemaker and she’s really good at conflict resolution in life. She’s open to new ideas. And she’s very go with the flow.”

Close friend senior Eden Kelly bonded with Mia over being some of the only juniors in their shared economics class last year. Initially, Eden assumed Mia would be reserved and reluctant to meet new people but later realized that Mia was welcoming to others and would not hesitate to speak up or make a joke during class. She admires Mia’s openness to meeting new people as a junior transfer student as well as her ability to quickly adapt to new situations.

“I remember in the beginning of junior year, she was a mystery,” Eden said. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh, who’s this new girl?’ But now it’s ‘Oh, that’s Mia.’ She’s solidified a place in the community. She’s a hidden gem in that when you first meet her, you don’t see the big personality that she has, but once you get to know her, you really start to see the sense of humor she has and how funny she is.”

Mia’s attentiveness to the community around her is also apparent to history teacher Carol Green, who teaches Mia in Civics and Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics. She commends Mia’s growing eagerness to learn about the government and how it impacts both legislation and the current political state of the country. 

“I advise Mia to just keep doing what you’re doing,” Green said. “She’s very open to hearing other people’s opinions, which is really good in this politically polarizing world. It’s just as important that as much as she’s open-minded, she continues to also share her thoughts.”

Reflecting on her time at Harker, Mia acknowledges her own growth in exploring her interests through joining extracurriculars she has not tried before. Whether in the Harker community, her volunteering job or in Massachusetts, her genuine interest in finding resolutions to public issues drives her every decision.

“It’s interesting to hear other people’s opinions,” Mia said. “It’s also really important to know what’s going on in the world, especially with politics because of what’s going on right now. I turn 18 soon, which means I’m voting and you should be aware as a voter.”