As a new school year begins, new confused and somewhat tiny eighth graders fill the “vast” halls of Wheatley as they search for their classes and navigate the school. Many would be quite shy and hesitant to agree to an interview from an intimidating senior, but as I scanned the halls of Wheatley searching for a perfect subject, I spotted a young man trudging down the hallway with a Case-it binder in hand, some papers in the other, and a backpack that could almost engulf him; right then and there, I knew he was the perfect one to represent the Class of 2022. His name is Hasan Suleman.
Following in the footsteps of his older sister Saman and older brother Umer, Hasan is the last of the Suleman legacy to endure the long journey through high school. Though he feels very pressured to be as successful as his sister is in high school, he loves that he is attending the same school as Saman. He enjoys having a familiar face around to make his first few days a little less scary and he also thinks its pretty cool that his sister can drive him around instead of taking the bus.
I expected every eighth grader’s first day of high school to be quite nerve wracking to the point where they’d want to cry (at least it was like that for me), however, Hasan handled the first day of high school like it was a breeze. Though he felt overwhelmed, as we all did, with getting accustomed to the new environment of Wheatley and finding the bathroom, he was very excited and feels great about his upcoming years at Wheatley, especially because he likes having his phone and laptop with him. When asked what was a factor that made his first day so great, he answered: Algebra 1 Honors class. Most people would shudder at the thought of math, but Hasan enjoys the subject; plus, the fast pace of the honors course and Mr. Gadamowitz’s undeniable humor are added bonuses. Hasan enjoys the responsibility that comes with taking these courses and feeling more mature while in high school since he’s finally turned the most important age of them all: thirteen.
Not only is Hasan a driven and intelligent person (he wants to be a doctor), but he is also passionate. He wants to explore his hobbies in music and technology throughout his time at Wheatley, and he is thinking of joining Tech Club, ICU, and in the future, Tri-M and National Honor Society! Hasan also loves to read. His favorite book is The Eye of Minds by James Dashner and the one fictional person he would love to meet in real life would be the main character, Michael, because, according to Hasan, Michael is the most intelligent person in the world.
Besides being a total academic genius, Hasan is also an extremely funny person. From shouting his favorite word, “Beans!” to thinking about what new color he would be in a box of crayons (which would be a reddish-purple color called “Hasan the Color”), he is in fact very humorous. He is also a true meme enthusiast, just like his sister. In fact, both of their favorite memes have to do with the TV Series, Arthur! Just to further illustrate the fact that Hasan is a true jokester at heart, when asked what he would do if ever he were locked in a room he explained that he probably just sleep and dream until someone lets him out. He manages to make anyone he encounters laugh until they are rolling on the ground.
Not only is he very humorous, but he is extremely brave: he watched IT (the new clown movie) without screaming every two minutes and overcame his fear of the movie. He can now proudly say that he watched one of the scariest movies of all time.While vacationing in Africa this summer, Hasan had the opportunity to pet a cheetah! How many people have the guts to pet an actual cheetah?
Despite Hasan’s fear of not appearing “interesting” enough for this interview, this meme-loving, intelligent, and quirky young man is one to remember. Hasan has high hopes for his time at Wheatley and just wants to make good friends and to discover what he likes to do during the next five years. I would love to see what impression he makes on Wheatley throughout his high school career, and if one thing is for certain, this Suleman will leave a magnificent legacy.