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Date: 1/25/2022
SPRINGFIELD – Hampden Charter School of Science student Notavious Andino Galarza is looking forward to attending Columbia University in the fall semester as a first-generation college student.
Attending an Ivy League college remained a dream for Galarza throughout his high school career, with the student sharing he worked tirelessly in his academics and extracurricular activities to achieve his goal. Along with completing an extensive curriculum, Galarza serves as the president of his school’s National Honor Society, captain of the varsity tennis team and as a participant in the Science Olympiad.
Galarza said he pushes himself to balance his wide array of activities. “Luckily I haven’t burnt out yet. There’s a method to the madness, eventually you find your flow and work until you achieve your goal,” said Galarza.
According to Galarza, his work ethic did not slow down amidst the COVID-19 shutdown. Along with starting an advocacy campaign that encouraged over 100 of his neighbors to get vaccinated, Galarza studied invasive species in Forest Park before reporting his findings to the local Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office.
In his studies, Galarza analyzed the park’s water by creating a terrarium model that introduced carp species and oxygenation for different tests. For Galarza, he said the project became a daily destresser to combat the growing dread surrounding the pandemic. “During the COVID-19 shutdown, I would go on daily walks through Forrest Park and take notes … It was the first time I’ve done research by myself and fell in love with digging deep into the unknown,” said Galarza.
One of Galarza’s teachers at the Hampden Charter School of Science, Matthew Babbitt, continues to witness Galarza’s growth as a student firsthand. He initially taught Galarza in ninth grade before instructing him in his senior year. “When he came into my ninth-grade classroom, he had not been in the honor’s class before…he worked hard to catch up to his classmates and rose to the challenge in every way to get to the very top of the class,” said Babbitt.
Babbitt considers Galarza a bright and infectiously warm presence in the classroom. “He’s got a big personality and really livens up the classroom… Notavious is one of the very best AP Calculus students I’ve ever had. When we go over a new topic, he will be one of the first students to understand it and work with others,” said Babbitt.
As a first-generation college student, Galarza reflected on the meaning of his significant achievement. “It means that my family and myself can see the future and feel hope again…It’s finally putting that missing puzzle piece together of my future,” said Galarza. He expressed that he’s ready to utilize the bevy of new resources that Columbia University will provide when attending college in the fall.
“I am just ready to explore all the possibilities that Columbia has to offer…I am excited to take on any new challenges that come my way,” said Galarza.