In this conversational interview hosted by Shellee Howard of College Ready, senior Janan (also referred to as Jannan) shares how she has not only survived but thrived during the COVID‑19 pandemic. She describes using the extra time to explore passions, complete a medical internship at Stanford, and engage in online tutoring and leadership projects such as the "Aspire to Inspire" initiative that provides game nights for local foster‑care youth. Janan explains why she is drawn to Stanford and Johns Hopkins—highlighting Stanford’s research exposure and Johns Hopkins’ strong mental‑health focus. She offers advice to incoming freshmen, urging them to take chances, join clubs, explore many interests, and avoid comparing themselves to others. Throughout, she credits the College Ready program for giving her confidence, a clear roadmap, and a supportive team. The interview emphasizes resilience, proactive exploration, community service, and the role of structured college‑readiness support in navigating high school during a pandemic.
Chapters
Hi, this is Shellee Howard with College Ready, and today I would like to introduce Jannan, who is a senior this year dealing with the COVID pandemic. And look at her smile, she's thriving, she's not just surviving. So Jannan, how are you smiling and how are you coping with COVID I'm coping with COVID by being able to explore my passions right now and like fantastic making use of the time. Now I know a little bit of your story. Story, but I think it's important for other students who may be freshmen in an online world. What would you tell your freshman self now that you look back? Or maybe a freshman you know about getting through high school and thriving?
And like being able to like explore different career paths that I love and also, um, working with students on Zoom and like online and doing different projects that I am really I'm really happy about getting the experience to do.
To excel in that.
Excellent. So do you have a dream school?
Yeah, I do.
Excellent. So go ahead and jump in is what you're saying. So don't— as you think to prepare for Stanford. So what is there one particular reason that that school stands out for you?
I'm planning on majoring in—
well, I actually— so over the summer I did a medical internship at Stanford and like it was basically two weeks.
Excellent. Do you have a dream med school that's, uh, in the mix?
Stanford, and like, I got to speak to a lot of Stanford med students.
I love it. So what made you decide to apply to Johns Hopkins?
That's just what other schools don't have, and how even though it's a very rigorous school and it's very, um, it's difficult, they still really care about like students' mental health, and they have a strong mental health program and different things like that. And I just loved that, and I also love the location.
Yeah, yeah, it sounds like that you just light up. That's a beautiful thing. Let's kind of take a walk down memory lane. When you were a freshman, right, coming in, and you transferred, so you, you, you really had a big adjustment. What could you tell these freshmen coming into the high school, online high school?
You're saying you wish thumbs up that somebody could have told you For me, I did my first summer program when I was, I think, 10th going into freshman.
I would say to take chances and to not be afraid, not scared, ever think about getting embarrassed about anything.
So if there's a club you're interested in, go join it. Don't ever think, just don't be worried or scared about not— wow. I'm like scared.
I would recommend just checking out as many things as you're— as, as many things as possible that you're interested in at first, even if you don't Because if you go to a project and you go to a meeting and you don't love it, you can just switch it up.
But like, at least you've gone to the first meeting, you've tested it out for yourself.
And I'd say don't compare yourself to others because you don't know the backstory of other students. They may just be putting up like a front.
You don't really know what— which person's story is.
Don't compare yourself to others.
What kind of experiences, or what was your favorite experience at one of those camps? For those students, all grades, even younger students.
It's really just the friendships that you make.
You know, a lot of people feel like COVID's here, I can't do anything, and I'm sad and I'm frustrated. Is there anything that you've been doing during this time that you might want to share about that might give others something to look forward to or something to try?
I have friends from both programs. You mean like projects? It's just nice to have those connections.
Yeah, projects, things that are bringing you joy during this time where others are feeling sad. And the exposure to those professors has got to be something you'll never forget. Yeah, having that opportunity can be so beneficial. But let's think about, we're in COVID now, you're a senior, you're still smiling. Can you help us understand how are you thriving during this online and other, you know, world that we live in?
Personally, I started tutoring and then I was able to create an organization that definitely hit my anxiety just a little bit.
Great, because I feel like I began to develop my leadership skills. And then also with Grace and Vijay, we did an Aspire to Inspire project where we were able to work with our local foster care system and we did game nights for them, which was really amazing because That was like a totally new experience that I was able to start.
So are you doing anything to balance Zoom with—
It was great to see how much that— how much we could do even though we're not adults yet. We were still able to get a group together and like do something good.
I guess kind of on my phone, on TikTok, watching videos. So that's what I'm really proud of.
And like, I feel like I really developed that skill of leadership. So that was very beneficial and productive, I think. Okay.
You just light up. That sounds pretty good. I get excited every time I hear you speak. So can you—
last question.
I know that working with college-ready How is it to our program? And I would love for you to maybe share how it's helped you or what you've learned by, by being a part of the program that helps enable you to be where you're at right now.
I feel a lot more comfortable and confident in my path. So I know that, like, I have a team supporting me, which is great, and I have, like, an outline of where I'm going next. And so that has been really great. Just not being afraid of what's ahead has been Really done. Wonderful.
Well, thank you so much, and we wish you all the best.
I had a list of colleges that I thought I wanted to apply to.
Hi, this is Shellee Howard with College Ready, and today I would like to introduce Janan, who is a senior this year dealing with the COVID pandemic. And look at her smile. She's thriving. She's not just surviving. How are you smiling and how are you coping with COVID Thank you for having me.
