Sean P. graduated from BASIS Independent McLean in 2021. He recently graduated from Brown University. In early July, he sat down for an interview with Dr. Hight, our Student Advancement Manager, to discuss his experience at Brown, his time at BASIS Independent McLean, and what’s next for him.

Dr. Hight: You recently graduated from Brown University. Congratulations! What was your favorite thing about college?

Sean: Oh my God… Nothing in high school could have really prepared me for what college is like. It’s so great. Like when they say it’s the best four years of her life, I really do think it is if you make the most of it. Over the past four years, being able to connect with various faculty through research or academics, and being able to meet so many different people from different backgrounds, whether that be through club sports or through clubs or even, meeting someone through another friend at an event. That was so much fun, just building your network and seeing what all these amazing people are pursuing and being able to celebrate their highs and all of that.

Dr. Hight: What did you like about Brown in particular?

Sean: I think the open curriculum suited me really well. Even though my undergrad major was very, very STEM-based, I was able to pursue so many of the other classes and disciplines that I was interested in just because we had no requirements. So I explored psychology very thoroughly. I explored architecture. I explored some history. That was really rewarding. And I got to meet people from other colleges because Brown is near Boston, and so we do like a lot of networking events with other schools in Boston, Harvard in particular. And there are the big games where Brown and Harvard go against each other.  It was just so, so much fun.

Dr. Hight: How was the transition from high school, academically?

Sean: I will say, and I’ve told this to other BIM faculty, that the BIM curriculum prepares you very well for the rigor that is to come in college. I was really nervous entering my first college class as a freshman, not knowing what to expect, but then I end up realizing that the workload and what was expected of me was pretty similar to what I already experienced in high school and so a lot of the adjusting in college was more social and being away from home rather than an academic adjustment.

Dr. Hight: Is there anything about your experience at BIM that you found particularly helpful when you got to college?

Sean: You know, it’s crazy to say this, but the CJ that we had. I think people found that really dumb in high school when I was there, but it’s crazy how organized you have to be in college. You are on your own. There’s no one telling you like what to do, when to do it. You’re getting thrown all these assignments and midterm dates and final dates that are all different by class, and you’re the one responsible for getting those done on time. Also, I think that the capstone classes that we get to take as seniors were really helpful for college. APs are great, and the content tested on the AP exams is very similar to what you’re going to get into a college introduction class, but those capstone classes were more reflective of the classes that I had in college. I think the assignments that I had in my capstone classes, whether that be writing a paper or in a science class presenting a poster, those are things that you would find in college as well. So having those assignments and having done them already in high school really helped prepare me for college.

Dr. Hight: If you had one piece of advice for BIM high school students before they go to college, what would it be?

Sean: I think the most important thing academically, socially, and even clubs as well, is just to be open-minded. Don’t lock yourself in a box and say I’m gonna go down this route or pursue this major. I didn’t really go into college thinking that I wanted to pursue psychology, and then I took a psychology class my freshman year and ended up taking five different psychology classes by the time I graduated, even though I wasn’t a psych major. With clubs, too, when you go to the activities fair, it’s really easy to kind of go to the clubs for things you’ve done before, but trying clubs you might not have your eye on in the beginning, learning what they’re about, going to the first meeting: it’s a great way to meet new people and to just try new things. And that’s the best part about college, I think: discovering a new subject you like or finding new people and becoming friends with them out of a shared new hobby.

Dr. Hight: Let’s take a walk down memory lane. When you think about your time at BASIS Independent McLean, what do you think of? Do you have any particular memories connected to the school?

Sean: I was at BIM when it was still relatively a new school, and so we were kind of adjusting and learning and going through that with everyone in my grade that was just such a memorable experience. I think the class size being small was really helpful. I think my class was like thirty or forty kids, and because it was so small, we kind of all went through it together. It kind of baffles me when I talk with my college friends and they say they’re no longer close with anyone from high school. For me, that’s the opposite case. I still talk every day to some kids from high school, and when I come back home, we study together, we work together, we do things together, and so it’s really that tight knit community that is fostered at BIM and makes me nostalgic about it.

Dr. Hight: Let’s look forward a bit. What are you up to next?

Sean: I’m going to London to get my master’s in public health at Imperial College London, so I’ll be in the heart of the city.

Dr. Hight: That sounds amazing! Why London?

Sean: When it came to schools that I could have chosen for my master’s, I applied to schools abroad, and the reason being was as a pre-med student, it’s really hard to study abroad during your time in undergrad. I ultimately decided to pursue my master’s abroad so I can grow my knowledge of the world and experience different cultures.

Dr. Hight: You’ll be in London, do you have a favorite Premier League team?

Sean: I’m a huge Arsenal fan.

Dr. Hight: Nice. I’m a Fulham fan… But back to you: what comes after the master’s degree? Do you have a vision for where you see yourself in ten years?

Sean: Ultimately, I want to practice medicine.With my master’s, I want to learn the skills that go into pursuing a successful clinical research study, like learning how to deal with public health studies and how to deal with them on a population-based level. I’m hoping that I learn about how other countries tackle health, how the US could also learn from that, and hopefully I have a global perspective on health that I can bring to my experience as a doctor. I plan to go to medical school in the US. In ten years, I’ll probably be in my residency, practicing whatever specialty I choose. Hopefully, I’ll already be designing my own clinical research studies so that by the time I become a physician, I can just kind of roll it out and can somehow contribute to science, because that’s the ultimate goal for me.

Dr. Hight: That sound amazing, Sean. Thank you so much for your time. It was great catching up with you. Good luck in London and keep us posted!

The Alumni Voice is a blog series that explores the post-high school experience for our BIM graduates. We believe that a lasting partnership with our alumni is integral to the continued success and growth of our community. Stay tuned for our next blog of the series, coming up soon!