Hi! My name is Jason Acosta Espinosa. I live with both of my parents, Marta Espinosa and Martin Acosta, and my younger sister, Katherine, a current sophomore.
This past February, I was also one of fifteen students selected by Knovva Academy, a global start-up in Boston, to take part in the Model G20 conference in Beijing, China.It was also my first time on a plane 🙂 It solidified my interest in working on an international level.I grew to have close bonds with my classmates as well as students from all over the world, many of which I am constantly in contact with. I was also awarded the Most Outstanding Delegation as the Ministry of Transportation of Japan out of a cohort of 300 international students which included a $3,000 scholarship aside from international recognition. I hope to return to China this February as part of another conference in Shanghai!
This past summer, I was one of a few selected students as part of the United States State Department and Georgetown University to attend a three-week long immersion and exchange program in the Dominican Republic known as Youth Ambassadors. There, I helped to build a playground for the local community and lived with my amazing host family.
I am currently in the top 10 of my class and have maintained over a 4.00 GPA all four years. As of right now, I have taken thirteen AP Courses which include three self-studies for AP Calculus AB, AP Human Geography, and AP Psychology. I have also taken four dual enrollment courses, my favorite of which has been my current dual enrollment course of World Literature! I am extremely passionate about writing which had led me to enroll in the Writing Center Fellowship with one of my favorite teachers Ms. Casper. The writing center has been such a humbling and honorable experience because we are entrusted with pieces of writing from other students, which I find to be a very vulnerable and powerful thing. Two of my favorite teachers ever, Ms. Pirkey and Ms. Wilkins, helped to foster my love for writing. Writing allows all of us to create these worlds that live in our minds and express ideas that float around like clouds that we have to latch onto! Ms. Pirkey also pushed me to apply for a program known as Questbridge Prep Scholars, which I was selected into, a program which equips juniors with resources and scholarships to apply to Ivy League schools such as Princeton and Brown University!
Despite this, I really want to take the time to admire the amazing work done by other students in my class, which include a start-up business from my friend Michael Roncevich, an international-level project known as “Two Countries, One Cause†by my friend Oulaya Louaddi, and an ongoing project to create a digital map of the school by my friend William Ly. Class of 2020 is truly on fire and creates such unique blends of ideas that I could not be prouder of us.
In terms of extracurriculars, I am currently the president of my student council, president of Speech and Debate, president of Model United Nations, vice president of Student Senate, and a Mass General Hospital Youth Scholar. This year, I will also be implementing a program that I have called “Amigos de Revere,†to help bring mental health resources and support to ELL students in the school. I am extremely passionate about everything I do and am continuously influenced by so many of my advisors, especially Mr. Fellowes. He has been a continuous source of inspiration for me, including being an advisor for Speech and Debate and Model UN, and never fails to impress me with how amazing of a person he truly is.
After school, I find myself writing short horror fiction in my spare time, watching the latest horror movies(which I totally recommend Midsommar by the way), teaching myself new languages(currently French!), working at Starbucks, and playing with my baby cousin Dylan. I love him so much, and I would argue he is one of the most influential people in my life.
As far as career and college stuff goes, I just hope to be happy and make my family proud! I will be the first person ever to go to college or even graduate high school from my immediate family which I am thankful to have the opportunity. Most days, I feel like I still have not done enough and want to continue to push myself. I think I have finally hit a point in my life where I am really happy! I really hope to become a child psychiatrist or pediatrician and to work in conjunction with the United Nations to bring global change and solve injustices.
