If you picture a woman in STEM that is top 10 in her class, tall enough to scare you through the lens of her thick glasses, and a laugh so contagious that you laugh harder at it than the joke itself, you’d find yourself imagining senior Ella Kuriyama. Headed off to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, Kuriyama will, without a doubt, be missed around the CHS campus. With a personality best compared with Jin from K-pop group, BTS, and a sense of humor that can only be described as “a sarcastic feel-good joke that somehow makes your friends feel better about themselves,” Kuriyama’s love and passion for everything around her will certainly flourish in the Midwest. Currently majoring in Asian Studies with intentions to do Pre-Med in the future, Kuriyama felt that Carleton was a strong fit for her academic needs and resources.
“I really thought that I would be able to thrive when I was in a very small class setting that was discussion-based and I think that the resources that Carleton has fit what I want to do in life and in my future.” Kuriyama said.
At Carleton, Kuriyama plans to branch out with extracurricular activities, with a mindset of participating in the orchestra, joining special interest clubs, and going on hikes at the school’s arboretum. Of course, with a half joking manner and a slight laugh on the side, the Mall of America is also a place Kuriyama is looking forward to visiting while in Minnesota. Her “#pastoralfantasy” is a dream Kuriyama intends to live out in Northfield as she surrounds herself in nature and long hikes.
“I think initially the isolation of Northfield, Minnesota is kind of scary, because in Claremont, it’s small, but not that small, but at the same time, it still feels very novel and there’s still a lot of things you can do, intellectually speaking but also socially.” Kuriyama said. “I’m excited to be in nature. I’ve been instructed to get a long coat and a hat, and if I were to be scared of something, it’d be the novelty. But if anything, I’m more excited.”
Ella Kuriyama would like to shout out Ms. Tran, for not only naming a Pokemon after her— “Geodude. I don’t know if she was trying to say anything. Am I dense?”— but for also being an influential figure in her academic career.
“She has definitely driven my interests in science.” Kuriyama said. “Specifically because she brings in lots of interesting topics that you wouldn’t think would connect to biology and like, makes you think about different biological processes through multiple lenses, which I had never experienced before her class. Ms. Tran’s a homie.”
To celebrate being a high school graduate, Kuriyama intends to sleep, with a life aspiration of obtaining a normal sleep schedule one day, and to go on a backpacking trip. She hopes to spend quality time with her friends before they all go their separate ways, but as a true W.W.H. Worldwide Handsome does, Kuriyama is also working, which may hinder her future plans. Link to the Claremont Club’s phone number so you can hear Ella answer the phone while working at thewolfpacket.org!
As Kuriyama closes out her final days at CHS, and after much ponder, thought, and deep sighing, she would like to thank her parents, sister, cats Miso and Cassandra, basketball teammates, Lana Del Rey, friends Meghan, Sequoia, Liza, Casey, Sophie, and Izzy. In the words of Kuriyama herself, “I don’t like anyone else.”