Charlotte Dadd, ‘24
Landscape Architecture
Virginia Tech
“CA allowed me to customize my curriculum to explore my interests and follow where they led. As a result, I discovered my passion for combining design and environment stewardship.”
Charlotte’s path to purpose started in MaLi Burnett’s biology class, where she worked as a teaching assistant during her sophomore year. The role would evolve into co-designing and leading an “Ecology at CA” Discovery Term, during which Dadd learned about native and invasive species and environmental design principles through field trips to botanical gardens and parks. She applied her newfound knowledge by collaborating with peers to design and construct a wildlife pond behind the Center for Math and Science, now used as a real-world interactive lab for studying aquatic ecosystems.
The experience piqued her interest in environmental design, which she pursued by creating an independent study to document the biodiversity of CA’s campus. Over two years, Charlotte cataloged over 180 plant species, creating an interactive map using ArcGIS. An additional elective, Advanced Environmental Science class with Upper School science teacher Heidi Maloy, further solidified her interest through an intensive companion planting project, which offered valuable lessons in ecological balance.
This fall, Charlotte heads to Virginia Tech, where she plans to major in landscape architecture and minor in urban planning or civil engineering. She hopes to work for a large landscape architecture firm and lead projects that create public spaces that foster community and environmental sustainability and appreciation.
Danny Davalos-Martinez, ‘24
Agricultural Business Management
North Carolina State University
“I charted my own path through CA, and thanks to those experiences, I found my purpose—what makes me happy and excited for my future.”
Danny tailored his educational journey at CA to explore his passion for agriculture, finding and creating unique opportunities aligned with his interests and goals. In his “Farming Our Food” science elective, he immersed himself in hands-on activities like designing garden beds and cultivating vegetables on campus, connecting classroom learning with practical application.
His educational journey extended beyond the campus through transformative expeditionary experiences. As a member of a contingent of students who attended Youth Forum Switzerland, Danny delved into sustainable agriculture alongside global peers—an experience that aligned with his interests and broadened his perspective on global sustainability issues.
During his Work Experience program, Danny collaborated with a local farm, gaining valuable first-hand insights into large-scale farming operations. The experience confirmed his interest in the business and economics side of agriculture.
In the fall, Danny will start at North Carolina State University, where he plans to study Agricultural Business Management, an experience for which he is excited and uniquely prepared.
Renee Zhu, ’24
Visual Arts
RISD (Rhode Island School of Design)
“At CA, I had the freedom to revolve my entire life around art; opportunities were all around me…as I developed my artistic voice, I realized I could build a career in my art.”
Renee’s experience at CA was shaped by a deep passion for art and literature from her early years. Initially drawn to the humanities, her love of the visual arts bloomed in CA’s Middle School art studios. There, she delighted in experimenting and learning the basics of various mediums under the encouraging guidance of her teachers.
In Upper School, Renee took full advantage of CA’s flexible curriculum, filling her schedule with an array of visual arts electives—from drawing and painting to digital imaging and 3-D design. She immersed herself in X Days and extracurricular activities and projects—from co-editing iNKBLOT (CA’s student-led art and culture magazine) to spearheading the creation of a full-scale mural in the Center for Community Engagement classroom. These experiences provided lucrative avenues to explore her artistic voice beyond the traditional classroom setting. Inspiration often came thanks to interdisciplinarity, with content from her favorite English electives—studies in poetry and magical realism, for example—providing endless themes to explore.
As Renee’s artistic voice solidified, so did her confidence—both in the studio and classroom. She increasingly contributed her perspectives—often informed by her artistic explorations—in class discussions. With the thoughtful mentorship of Upper School art teacher Cayce Lee, she built a professional portfolio of 20 completed works for her Advanced Portfolio class and, in so doing, found validation in her decision to pursue art as her life’s work.
This fall, Renee joins the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, where she eagerly anticipates the exploration, discoveries, and artistic growth that lie ahead.
Nayan Patel, ’25
Machine Learning
“The depth to which CA has allowed me to pursue my interests has solidified what is sure to be a lifelong fascination with STEM, particularly machine learning and artificial intelligence.”
Nayan Patel—who completed Calculus 3 in his junior year, an advanced college-level class held in collaboration with North Carolina State University—is quick to laud CA academics. As an avid member of CA’s USAYPT, rocketry, and robotics teams, he’s also developed an appreciation of CA’s extracurricular, experiential, and flexible learning opportunities that have allowed him to explore and apply his learning in meaningful ways in the real world.
During his “Reach for the Stars” Discovery Term, Nayan traveled to a “dark sky” area to view space through the largest telescope in North Carolina. Back on campus, he had the opportunity to explore further, even building a telescope enclosure. The experience confirmed a deep interest in space, physics, and astronomy.
With the freedom to explore in his tenth-grade Topics in Computer class, Nayan developed his first baseline computer vision application—and a passion for machine learning. Hooked, he secured a summer internship with Duke University Electrical Engineering Professor Dr. Tingjun Chen, where he used machine learning to help generate cell service coverage maps of cities based on satellite images.
On learning of human rights abuses and environmental concerns involved with mining cobalt—one of the minerals used to create lithium-ion batteries—during a volunteer engagement working with Congolese refugees, Nayan was inspired to find a solution. Last year, as a junior, he developed an independent research project to investigate whether asteroid mining might offer a more sustainable and equitable alternative.
He developed a machine learning application that can process large astronomic spectrometry data sets to determine if asteroids contain mineral compositions that could be mined as suitable alternatives to highly sought minerals on Earth. His work experience program placement last spring with Wasatch Photonics, a manufacturer of mini spectrometers, offered unique insights into the inner workings of the technology on which his research depends.
As he enters his senior year, Nayan is interested in exploring other ways that artificial intelligence and machine learning can be leveraged to help address some of the most pressing humanitarian and environmental issues of our time.
Tanya Sachdev, ’24
Global Health
Duke University
“When I think of Cary Academy, the word that comes to mind is ‘opportunity.’ CA truly invests in its students…. As a result, I discovered my passion and a future in global health.”
During her time at CA, Tanya emerged as a community leader and dedicated social activist who channeled her outrage over the global refugee crises into action—and a purpose-driven career path.
Inspired by an NPR story her sophomore year, Tanya approached the Center for Community Engagement to found the CA chapter of the national STAR (Students Together Assisting Refugees) Club. As founder and president, she was given the freedom to spearhead initiatives on campus to raise awareness and partner with local organizations to directly aid refugees.
Experiential opportunities offered welcome opportunities to delve deeper into the refugee crisis and its attendant issues. During X Days, she designed sessions to educate her peers on the cause, inviting guest speakers and organizing outings to refugee support organizations and refugee-owned businesses. Social-emotional and equity learning opportunities equipped her with skills to navigate interactions with the refugee populations she aims to serve in respectful and authentic ways.
To strengthen her leadership skills, Tanya applied and was selected for participation in the CCE’s Leadership Academy, an eight-month, intensive program designed to prepare students for leadership roles on and off campus. The experience ultimately helped to equip her with skills to found and lead her own nonprofit—Empowering Refugee Children (ERC) —committed to expanding educational opportunities and providing scholarships for refugee children.
Beyond co-curricular opportunities, Tanya credits the flexibility to tailor her academics to her interests and to maximize interdisciplinarity—taking advanced chemistry alongside advanced government, for example—with confirming that her passion and purpose lay at the intersection of the sciences and humanities.
This fall, Tanya begins at Duke University, where she plans to major in global health on the pre-med track. She hopes to eventually work as a doctor focused on serving the refugee community.
Zachary Bigelow, ’24
Liberal Arts
Michigan State University
“At CA, you can find the way of thinking about the world that best fits you; you can connect anything that you enjoy to a subject that you’re learning.”
Purpose doesn’t always have to be concrete, and the path toward it can be a winding one. For Zachary Bigelow, his journey to purpose wound through an exploration of a variety of academic interests, discerning the important connections between them and applying those insights to how he thinks about the world.
In his English classes, he was given carte blanche to identify and explore personally resonant themes in class texts. Thoughtful alignment of his math and science classes—and an interdisciplinary Discovery Term—shed light on how they worked in concert in the real world around him, each, in turn, inspiring a deeper interest in the other. His German exchange trip exposed him to a whole new vocabulary—words that don’t exist in English—with which to better describe his world. In each experience, his ability to personalize and own his learning—in both content and pedagogical approaches—empowered him to follow even the smallest curiosity to impressive ends.
Oddly enough, and perhaps because he was used to being encouraged to dive deeper into other subjects, Zachary’s now keen interest in history can be traced back to the only class at CA he didn’t fully enjoy—Advanced American History. The pace and breadth of the class, which covered the entirety of American history, was off-putting. However, while studying the 1844 election, a seemingly minor detail—one so insignificant it would be omitted from later textbooks—offered a different entrée into the content he was studying, invigorating an interest in history and the power of small moments to alter its trajectory.
Inspired by a simple two-sentence mention about third-party candidate James G. Birney, Zachary proposed an independent study in his senior year. This deep dive into American history demonstrated that Birney’s paltry 10,000 votes marked a turning point that put America on the path to the Civil War. His project went on to win top prize in the National History Day Regional Competition.
In the fall, Zachary will attend Michigan State University as an Alumni Distinguished Scholar. There, he will pursue his varied interests in the Honors College Program, which allows him to take any undergraduate course without prerequisites. While some might be daunted by the opportunity to take advanced college courses, Zachary credits CA with instilling in him the self-awareness to understand his interests, strengths, and limitations, enabling him to tackle the challenge with confidence and enthusiasm.
Annie Boyse, ’25
World Languages
“CA gives students remarkable freedom and trust to pursue their interests.”
For Annie Boyse, purpose comes from the new experiences and perspectives brought through cultural exploration and the ability to communicate fluently in languages other than her native tongue.
Annie’s adventure with world languages began in her Middle School Spanish classroom, where an immersive approach focused not on rote memorization of random vocabulary words, but on building the fundamentals of the grammar needed to begin speaking. To Annie, it was like being offered keys to a different world; she was immediately hooked.
Wanting to go deeper, at the end of her freshman year, Annie approached her Upper School Spanish teacher, Vic Quesada-Herrera, to express an interest in fast-tracking her fluency. Thanks to CA’s approach, which stresses aptitude and interest over a prescribed one-size-fits-all path, Annie was able to secure approval from the department chair to study over the summer and test into Advanced Spanish on her return in the fall.
Now, in advanced-level Spanish classes, she’s tackling subjects in her target language—like Costa Rican history and culture—that both interest her and give her real-world conversational experience beyond what would be feasible in a traditional classroom. She credits the experience of hosting her Argentinian World Language Exchange Program partner with helping her develop a deeper understanding of Argentinian culture, politics, and society that allows her to communicate more authentically with native speakers.
Beyond the classroom, Annie has embraced opportunities to apply her language skills in real-world settings and to connect with native Spanish speakers. Her pivotal experience at the Mexican Consulate in Raleigh exemplifies her dedication. Volunteering weekly, Annie supports children of Mexican immigrants, helping them navigate activities in Spanish while their parents manage consulate affairs. This role not only sharpens her language proficiency, but also underscores her commitment to community service and cultural advocacy.
Next year, Annie will embark on an independent study to learn Italian—a world language outside of CA’s established curriculum. Having already achieved near proficiency in Spanish, she hopes Italian will unlock more of the globe for authentic cultural exploration that can yield meaningful experiences and connections.
