By Hannah Park
“I honestly didn’t want to open my acceptance letter. So, I waited two weeks after [the decision] to open it …”
Humble, soft-spoken and affable, senior Caitlynn Year defies everything you’d expect an “academic powerhouse” to be. Far from vaunting her acceptance to Columbia University, a private Ivy League school located in New York City, Year still emphasizes the disbelief that swamped her upon opening her decision.
But whether through her outstanding community contributions as an Eagle Scout (the highest rank in Boy Scouts) and the recipient of Girl Scouts’ Gold Award (an equally prestigious distinction), her presidential role in Fountain Valley High School (FVHS)’s National Honor Society or her sparkling academic record, Year is more than deserving of all the recognition she’s won.
How did Year find the time to balance school, hobbies and internships? What motivates her? What video games does she play? Read on to catch a glimpse of Year’s lifestyle.
First, Columbia
Year was accepted to Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. While undergraduate students at Columbia don’t declare their major until the fall of their sophomore year, Year’s main interest lies in computer engineering (although she’s open to change).
Why did Year choose Columbia? Among many other things, she jumped at the opportunity to explore New York City.
“I’ve only been there once when I was four,” Year said. “I want to experience a completely different place compared to Fountain Valley, and I also am looking forward to making new connections … and meeting all sorts of people from different countries!”
In order to craft a strong Columbia application, Year not only created a strong extracurricular list (which we’ll explore later) but shared personal aspects of her life. She shared one metaphor that she used to illustrate her story: the dragon fruit tree that grew in her grandmother’s backyard.
“I talked about that, and how the branches of the dragon fruit tree represented my foundations, and … how the thorns represented my challenges, and how my flowers represented my successes,” Year said.
An engineer’s extracurriculars
Pursuing her interests in math and computer science, Year served as the secretary for both the Math Olympiad and the Computer Science Club. She also rose to president of the National Honor Society, leading successful fundraisers that raised over $1000.
Some of Year’s finest accomplishments, though, lay in her involvement in both Boys and Girls Scouts. A member of both organizations since the sixth grade, Year completed the requirements to achieve the Eagle Scout rank, a distinction only 2% of Boy Scouts attain, and the Gold Award, earned by only 3,200 girls in 2023.
To become an Eagle Scout, Year completed 36 merit badges (surpassing the necessary 21) and built two planters for FVHS’s culinary program to be used for organic gardening. For her Gold Award, Year created a sustainable gardening program at the Carmel Village Retirement Center, using the help of modern technology. Her goal? To introduce elderly residents to a healthy gardening hobby.
“A lot of [the] elderly face isolation, and they don’t have connections with other people due to being in a retirement home,” Year said. “So, I wanted to bring something over that they already had experience with, because a lot of elderly already know how to garden … I [met] a lot of … elderly people who shared their advice and knowledge with me.”
Year’s other accomplishments include:
- Becoming a QuestBridge Finalist, a distinction given to 6,683 students based on exceptional academic ability and financial need
- Receiving the FVHS Service Cord for 200+ hours of community service
- Serving as the Senior Patrol Leader of her Boy Scout troop and later Vice President of her Boy Scout crew
- Studying as a trainee at the MIT SureStart Program, where she explored machine learning and AI
- Interning at Codology, an educational technological company providing free tech workshops to underprivileged students
- Volunteering at the Newhope Public Library
- Playing junior varsity tennis
- And more!
How did she survive?!
Like the rest of us, Year had to fight procrastination.
“I would go to bed at 3 a.m. a lot,” Year said.
Far from diminishing her accomplishments, though, Year’s struggle — and the effort she put in to maximize her productivity — is a helpful reminder that one can be high-achieving without being perfect.
In order to meet her deadlines, Year used Notion, an online checklist that helped her keep track of her tasks. She also reached out to her teachers if she needed extra time and watched YouTube videos that dealt with effective study and organizational techniques.
“It [was] fast-paced, but you get used to it over time,” Year said.
Not only that, but Year looked to her family and a desire to change the world for the better to find motivation and inspiration for her work.
“[My family members] just wish for a better life, and education and future for me,” Year said. “Why don’t I put the effort to show them that I appreciate them back? … [Also,] I want to make an impact in the world. My scout project was an example of that.”
The person, not the reputation
For all the stories and accomplishments surrounding Year, it’s important to remember that she is, above all, a teenager. Year likes to try new things: during the coronavirus pandemic, for example, she learned how to juggle!
Adventurous and ambitious, Year loves to go on hikes and to go on adventures. Her favorite food is currently takoyaki, and her guilty pleasure lies in playing Payday 2 — a surprisingly brutal, crime-heist game (Year couldn’t hold back a laugh while explaining it). She also enjoys Roblox and Minecraft.
Ever the academic, however, Year is also challenging herself to read 52 books this year: one per week. She’s read titles such as “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” romance novels and even a nonfiction book concerning biomimicry: when humans take inspiration from nature to engineer new products. Year especially enjoyed reading the latter, which relates to her engineering aspirations.
“Right now, I’m ahead by five books. I’ve never read 52 books in a year … the most I’ve read was 30 books … [but] I want to challenge myself,” Year said.
Advice for next year’s seniors: application season
For the prospective seniors who are worrying about next year’s college application process, Year offers a few, genuine words of advice.
“You’re [probably] going to end up procrastinating … So, honestly, during that time, you should still have fun,” Year said.
How did she approach application season?
“For me, I was super, duper stressed during the month I was writing all my essays. I would wake up, and I would think about my essays … I’d go to school, I’d think about my essays … and then … I couldn’t write them,” Year said. “But, I would still take the time to hang out with my friends. It helped me to relax a little bit, and it took some of the stress out of thinking about applying to college.”
Year’s determination and indomitable spirit have not only produced her Columbia acceptance, but an impressive, passionate character. Year will be a treasured member of Columbia’s student body: we know she’ll continue engineering solutions to help her family, community and society for many years to come.
This article was originally published in the 2024 RED Magazine. Stop by room 306 to pick up a copy.
