Picture this: A girl walks across Central Quad in an oversized dark blue crewneck with the words Middlebury College emblazoned across the front. Students’ heads turn in admiration as she walks briskly past with a pair of wide-legged blue jeans and black lace-up combat boots to complete her look. But wait, there is no need to picture this imaginary scene any longer. This is reality. Everyday, students and staff are blessed with the presence of senior extraordinaire Liza Platonov!
Whether she is accepting academic awards from both the German and Math departments, vaulting effortlessly over a 6 foot-high bar, or inspiring change by leading Girls Can Code Club, Helpful Honda Club, Bernie Sanders Club, and Common Good Tutors, Platonov leaves a lasting impression everywhere she goes.
The 17 year-old is about to embark on the next leg of her educational journey. However, with practically every college in the world begging for the full IB diploma candidate and ex-soccer prodigy, it was a mystery which one Platonov would choose.
“So originally I was only considering Harvard, and I know they wanted me too,” Platonov said between giggles. “But honestly, one of the biggest things I really liked about Middlebury is that everyone was smiling on campus…. My mom and I were joking about how everyone looked so happy in their groups of friends but then we saw this guy walking by himself and he was smiling.”
To the chagrin of her Harvard-loving father, the once ivy league minded Platonov chose a small liberal arts college in the middle of Vermont. And besides the frozen lakes, Vermont milk, Ben and Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard, and Henry Shelton Museum of Vermont History, Platonov is excited to continue her education and study anything from 1920’s feminism to computer science.
“I’m planning on studying computer science and I’m going to think, ‘I like this a bit and I like money,’” Platonov said. “But there is also a part of me that longs for history…. So basically, I have a lot of options: woman in STEM, woman not in STEM, woman. That’s what I’m going for.”
After building a lasting legacy in this California suburb, the master coder will be dearly missed. According to Platonov, her mother has trouble holding back tears every time her daughter’s move to Vermont is brought up. Platonov will also be leaving behind a plethora of friends, admirers, goldfish, and sweater gamers when she departs. But it would be a lie to say that Platonov will not miss anything about Claremont.
“I’m going to miss my dad’s cooking,” Platonov said, taking a moment of silence to think. “And I’m probably not going to be able to eat caviar either…. I’m going to miss my mattress topper, that’s the biggest one, above my friends and family! And of course I’ll miss my dog Strelka.”
Platonov has spent her twelve years in the CUSD public school system mastering everything from calculus to whistling to Rubik’s Cube solving. However, she is only onto bigger and better things as she ventures off to Middlebury in the fall. She would like to shout out Meghan, Melina, Sequoia, and Isha for including her in the exclusive online edition of Wolfpacket’s Senior Issue, as well her friends, family, and noble dog Strelka. She is also excited to spend the next four years with fellow Midd-kids Kathy and Mohamed. Finally, she would like to leave her CHS fans with a thoughtful and well-written haiku: “Liza loves her dog / Liza despises nature / Meghan’s my cool friend.”