Fox Chapel Area High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
Zachary Lakkis
Senior, Fox Chapel Area HS
lakkis_zachary@cl.fcasd.edu
Playing the violin has been a passion of mine since I was in elementary school. This has brought me into several communities, from school orchestras to regional youth orchestras. Along the way, I’ve realized that through music, I can give back to my community and serve the public good. I volunteer regularly at soup kitchens and homeless shelters with peers and chamber groups to help serve food and perform our music. In addition, I ran a coat drive last winter and brought the donations to the shelter. At school, I am a member of the Ambassadors for Children’s Hospital Orchestra, which raises money and provides entertainment for patients at the hospital.
Throughout middle and high school, I have played monthly with one of my closest friends at local nursing homes. Audience members always show us pictures of their grandchildren who play instruments, recount stories of performing with high school bands, and request a favorite song or two. After playing on the Alzheimer’s floor of a local nursing home, we were told that a gentleman who always showed up at our performances had been a violinist in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Recently, I volunteered to play “Carnival of the Animals” at a PSO Fiddlesticks concert. Seeing the curiosity and excitement of children in the audience made the performance more than worthwhile. Throughout college, I would like to continue sharing music with others in whatever community I am in. My experiences have illustrated to me how powerful music is at bringing people of diverse backgrounds and ages together; it is truly a universal language that brings joy to all.
Since elementary school, I have competed annually in regional science fairs and developed a love for scientific research. To share this inspiration with others, I created the Science Fair Club at my high school.
My club provides information about science fairs to students in the middle and high school, while encouraging those without prior experience to compete and engage in science opportunities. Each year, I take science fair “regulars” to the middle school. We present prior projects to interested students and teach them how to create successful science presentations. Because of my leadership of the Science Fair Club, I volunteered to help teach an after-school science class at my elementary school and to give science demonstrations to children at All of Us Care. We used fun experiments to teach students about complex subjects such as photosynthesis, lung function, and chemical reactions. This was particularly enjoyable for me because I was fostering a love of science in curious, young children. Towards the end of junior year, I volunteered at my elementary school to help with the same science fair that had inspired me and many of my peers. With a group of friends and Science Fair Club members, I helped set up the fair and judge projects. I hope the support we gave to the students will increase the chance that they will continue to seek STEM opportunities and follow their own scientific interests.