While it may seem like the typical high school student in Silicon Valley wants a career in STEM, some Trojans prefer a different path.
Senior April Price Rodriguez has been preparing to become a tattoo artist. She plans to practice her tattoo skills on fruits in the future to further her skills, Rodriguez said.
“I’m hoping that I can end up working under someone and watching them tattoo and everything, and just helping out so I could learn from them, so I get a first person experience,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez’s desire to become a tattoo artist came from seeing her father’s multiple tattoos, Rodriguez said.
“I always heard about tattooing and stuff like that, and how much (money) they make,” Rodriguez said. “(It) was a lot, depending on how much I want it to cost, and I’m hoping that I can have my own business eventually. So that’s why I am going to end up majoring in marketing.”
Another appeal of becoming a tattoo artist is interacting with the clients, Rodriguez said. By conversing with her clients, she would understand their vision and put some of her own ideas in it, she said.
“I just feel like it’s simpler, it’s just in the moment, I get to enjoy that time, to have that conversation with someone and really connect, instead of just doing the art by myself,” Rodriguez said.
April Rodriguez is not the only one with an interesting career choice. Senior Nick Onalfo has a passion for theater acting, Onalfo said. He is planning to one day become a Broadway actor, Onalfo added.
“I love being on stage and just knowing that I am in the moment, and it’s very stressful because anything could go wrong at any moment, but knowing that if I do it well, 100 people – hell, five people – in the audience could be impressed by me,” Onalfo said. “I love that feeling. I love being able to go on stage with everything I have and let that be appreciated.”
Onalfo has been in theater since freshman year, he said. He has a lot of experience in theater and has acted in a movie as a background character, Onalfo added.
“It was actually really cool to see how, like the film set kind of things work,” Onalfo said. “But I realized that I just don’t like having to go back over and over again for one shot. And I think I like stage more because it’s like, you just do it.”
A challenge that he will face in pursuit of acting is luck, Onalfo said. Acting is hard to get into due to the skills, experience, and luck necessary for an actor to be picked, Onalfo added.
“You don’t know what someone’s going to like or dislike,” Onalfo said. You don’t know if you’re going to walk into a room and they’re going to love you or they’re going to hate you,” Onalfo said. “Directors are very good at hiding that kind of stuff, and even then, it’s hard to be taken seriously. And I think it’s also very hard financially, because I’m going to want a job to keep myself afloat while I continue to try and push for doing this professionally.”
Sophomore Don Pham wants to become a military officer, Pham said. Since he is an only child, he is more interested in a logistics position rather than front-line fighting, Pham added.
“I’m already part of many military programs,” Pham said.“I’m part of two right now, Civil Air Patrol (CAP), and Air Force Auxiliaryauxiliary … I’m trying to pursue a scholarship or go to Naval Academy.”
Civil Air Patrol is like JROTC but with more responsibilities, Pham said. In Civil Air Patrol, you do emergency services and you are allowed to shoot weapons, he added.
“The higher rank you have, the more leadership experience you have,” Pham said. “Let’s say that I have a leadership position here (NJROTC) and in CAP. Who do you think would be more competitive compared to a fresh out of high school guy?”
Pham wants to join the military because of the benefits, Pham said. The military would pay a pension once he retires, and he could also decide to work in the private sector in a managerial position later due to his logistics experience, Pham added.