A passion Anya Sheng ‘25 has explored the most during her time at Castilleja is her love for math. “Patterns are the reason I like math so much,” she said. “It’s nice seeing visual patterns and making connections between the things I learn.” Math is often integrated into many of Sheng’s projects, especially in her chemistry and physics classes. Sheng appreciates the use of math in the real world and how necessary it is in most fields Sheng is interested in pursuing.
Sheng has learned many life lessons during her time at Castilleja, especially when it comes to college. If she could give any advice to her freshman self, she would say, “Keep picking the extracurriculars that matter to you and that you want to explore. Don’t think about what looks good for college, if you like the extracurricular, you can write your essays on it.”
As someone who enjoys STEM, Sheng is planning to major in math at Harvey Mudd College this fall, seeking to deepen her understanding of the subject she has learned to love over her time at Castilleja. Sheng is also excited to take advantage of study abroad programs, considering how much her GIT trip through Castilleja shaped the person she is today.
In her junior year, Sheng went on the GIT trip to Morocco. “It was definitely challenging, with the long days of travel as well as being in a bus filled with people you aren’t really close with,” she said. Sheng described how the mix of being in a whole new country, not knowing the language and being with a group of girls she wasn’t good friends with taught her the value of resilience and patience. She appreciated the new experience of traveling, as it brought her much joy and excitement.
When asked about her most memorable moments at Casti, the first thing that came to Sheng’s mind was the play, Mean Girls, which was held spring of 2024. Although Sheng has enjoyed theater throughout her four years of high school, she was too busy with golf at the time to join the cast. However, the cast was filled with her close friends, and she still went to see the show. When seeing the play, Sheng remembers being star-struck and thinking to herself, “These are my friends, I act with these people and I’m surrounded by so many amazing girls.”
From being a young girl convinced she wanted to be a marine biologist, to becoming a rising college student driven by a love for math, Sheng has grown as a student, a friend and a daughter. She has blossomed her growth mindset and holds close to her heart all of the friends she’s made at Castilleja. Sheng is excited for the next chapter and ready to take on new challenges.