Nygel's Nerd Nation Interviews Daphney Bonner

N3: Daphney, you have just completed Middle School and you will now be entering John Hay
School of Science and Medicine. What are your feelings as you leave Heritage and onto John Hay?
DB: As I move from Heritage to John Hay I feel that I need to succeed as I did at Heritage and strive even higher at John Hay. I also feel that this will be a totally new environment for me. I won’t have the comfort of my old friends to have by my side. It is like a totally new start for me so I know I need to do my best, strive for excellence, and make a good impression on new people so that I can have a great and fun experience at John Hay.

N3: What are some of your fondest memories that you will take with you as you leave Heritage and what will you miss the most?

DB: Some of the best memories that I will take from Heritage are of course my great friends that I had but the things that I will always remember is my group "The Progeny." Our group consisted of two saxophonists, a guitarist, a drummer, and me who plays clarinet and sings. We performed at all the school events. At practices we had so many fun times and being there with Anthony by my side was the absolute best. This is also what I will miss the most. I will miss my band teacher Mr. Woods who helped me find my voice and I will miss all my band mates but I plan on keeping up with this and staying in our band The Progeny.

N3: How will you be spending your summer?

DB: For my summer I hope that I will get a call from my band director to say we got a gig and somewhere to play. I also plan to spend my summer with my family and check up on some of my Aspire friends.

N3: You attended the Aspire program at Hathaway Brown. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience?
DB: That experience for me was absolutely great. There I got to be myself without anyone judging me and I got to meet great people who have helped me be who I am today. At Aspire we were in families so I got to be a big sister and help guide my younger sisters. From the Aspire Olympics to Love Your Body day, I love Aspire.

N3: What is your direction of study when you head off to John Hay?
DB:  When I head off to John Hay I plan to steer my direction of study in pediatrics because you have to know how to make kids feel comfortable to be a great Pediatrician.

N3: What do you do like to do for fun?

DB: For fun I like to play my clarinet, sing, read books, and write and arrange songs.

N3: So, you did very well in your academic career at Heritage, tell us, just how well did you do? What courses were the most challenging for you and why? How did you maintain your focus and determination?

DB: Well in my studies at Heritage I made consecutive straight A’s for both years and I maintained a 4.0 GPA. The most challenging course was math because I was not very good at it and sometimes it would be hard for me to understand but I made it through. I just kept on moving and I blocked out all of the distractions.

N3: What is your definition of a nerd and do you consider yourself one?

DB: definition of a nerd is someone who is smart and does what they need to do and yes I do consider myself a nerd.

N3: There is so much pressure to be in the “in crowd” how do you feel about peer pressure, how do you handle it and is fitting in important?

DB:  I feel that you just don’t give into peer pressure and I handle it by just staying with the people I know that will support me. Fitting in is not important because if you just be yourself people will except you for you.

N3: You had the privilege to work with Anthony in the NJHS, tell us how it was working with him and do you plan on keeping in touch?

DB:  It is an honor to work with Anthony. He is such a great person and he keeps you smiling and laughing all the time. I do plan to stay in touch with Anthony. He is such a great person.

N3: What positive contributions would you like to bring to John Hay?

DB:    I would like to bring my joy and happiness to John Hay.

N3: Based on your time at Heritage, how would both your teachers and friends describe you?

DB: My teachers and friends would describe me as a wonderful, energetic person that does what she needs to do to succeed.

N3: What is your ultimate career and why did you select that career?

DB: My ultimate career is to be a Pediatrician. I selected this because I want to help those who need help.

Way to go Daphney!