Senior Naya Sangoram ’25 has a pen pal that she met through her guinea pig. Well…sort of.
“There’s this woman in my community who’s writing a book, and she has a guinea pig, and I used to have a guinea pig,” Sangoram said. “We’ve kind of been pen pals-ish for the past four years. She’s a really sweet, elderly woman who just wrote a book about her guinea pig, actually. It’s a children’s book and I did some illustrating for her website.”
Meeting new people, keeping in touch and being open to new conversations—uncomfortable as they can be—are important skills to Sangoram. These skills have created chances for her to try new activities, such as illustration.
Outside of art, however, Sangoram has made new friends as a three-sport athlete.
“I think my desire to connect with people is also evident in sports and my willingness to talk to people,” Sangoram said.
Sangoram enjoys cross country, basketball and lacrosse. Each sport’s distinctive team dynamic has supported her in their own unique ways. While the time commitment was initially scary, she’s found that showing up and showing interest has led to new relationships and activities.
Sangoram has further fostered long-lasting relationships through her mentorship in Halford—a Casti ACE Org focused on addressing educational inequities for young girls in marginalized communities. Initially, Sangoram didn’t even know what Halford was about. Yet, after learning about the Halford mission, Sangoram became excited over the idea of mentoring elementary school students, getting to know them and teaching them lessons.
“I love getting to know new people and seeing how my experience and their experience can mutually benefit both of us,” Sangoram said.
She’s also been able to branch out as a Casti Peer Advisor, which for her, has been one of the most rewarding experiences at Casti.
“It’s definitely fueled my passion for supporting others and being there for others, channeling any kind of experience that I might have into helping them,” Sangoram said.
While Sangoram often advises others based on previous experience, if she were to advise her younger self, Sangoram would tell herself to believe in her capabilities and decisions. It’s due to this sentiment that Sangoram doesn’t regret her decisions throughout high school.
“I think there’s a lot of messaging out there of: ‘Oh, you can say no,’ or ‘You can try new things.’ But, I would go through my path very similar to how I did it. I don’t really have any regrets,” Sangoram said. “Things are bound to get hard, but I know that I’m going to get through it. I got this, it’s going to be okay and it’s okay to be scared.”
Sangoram also says that inward confidence in our capabilities will carry us through the negativity surrounding the endless responsibilities we may carry.
After graduating Casti, Sangoram wants to continue club sports or a program similar to Halford, allowing her to make new friendships.
“This theme of connecting with people and meeting new people is definitely something that I would want to continue, like making friends with the people in my dorm or my roommates,” Sangoram said. “I know there’s opportunities for being an RA, but obviously, I’ll be a freshman first.”
