January 2021

The Blue and Gold
January 2021
Number Eight: Jinpeng Chen
Sandra Li
Managing Editor
Jinpeng Chen, a graduate of Malden
High, accumulated great
experiences that have changed
his outlook and is one of the top
academically ranked students in the
class of 2020.
A well-rounded student, Chen
participated in various extracurricular
activities all throughout high
school. He competed in track and
cross-country, helped start the Guitar
Club, and was an officer for the Y
Leaders Club. Outside of school, he
also took part in programs including
Summer Search and a pre-college
program for a cancer biology course
at Brown University. One of the major
life lessons that he has learned
from these outside experiences
includes patience. Chen explained
that before, he was an individual
who would want to act immediately
and solve problems. However, he
has recognized that “sometimes
you cannot rush, you have to go
through the process.” Chen further
added that most of the insight and
the philosophy that “[he] has for
life are from personal experiences
like these” as they had an influential
impact on him.
As far as hobbies, he enjoys the
thrill of running. “Running helps to
release the stress from academics,”
said Chen. In addition, playing the
guitar is another hobby for him.
Chen noted that one of the more
memorable moments for him in
high school was his injury. He explained
that the guitar was one of
the ways he could get through this
difficult time because playing the
guitar is “like a portal where you
are separated from all the world of
responsibilities.”
Academically, Chen pushed
himself to take a variety of rigorous
courses as having taken a total of 13
AP classes along with some Bunker
Hill Dual Enrollment courses. He
explained that in his family, “education
has always been prioritized”
however, at the time “[he] cared
more about grades rather than
learning itself.” It was not until his
Julie Yu
Editor-In-Chief
Ezra Kruckenberg is a graduate
from Malden High School’s
Class of 2020. Although his senior
year was cut short in a unique way,
he finished
his high
school
career having
ranked
as tenth in
Ezra Kruckenberg’s senior
portrait. Photo submitted
by James Valente.
his whole
grade.
During
his time
at Malden
H i g h ,
Kruckenberg
was
Class of 2020 Profiles
junior year where Chen realized
what the essence of learning was.
He emphasized how education is
more about what you “obtained in
learning” and then applying it to the
real world.
Chen credited Latin teacher Julie
Fox, science teacher Jessica Webber
and computer science teacher
Paul Marques, as all having been
“gamechangers for [him] and [his]
highschool career” because they
were major motivators and also
acted as mentors as well.
After having been accepted
into institutions including Boston
University and Brandeis University,
Chen is currently attending Tufts
University. With great opportunities
ahead of him, he decided on
Tufts because he saw the university
as “a great jumping board for the
next stage” and overall enjoys the
environment because it “gave the
same sensational feeling for when
[he] was at Brown pre-college.”
Currently, Chen is undecided, but
is leaning towards majoring in Biochemistry
or something within the
STEM field. In the future, he hopes
to either become a primary care doctor
or a specialist as certain personal
experiences have “motivated [him]
to do biochemistry and go into the
medical field.” With that said, Chen
“hopes to become somebody who is
useful and contributes to society” in
terms of utilizing science towards
creating a more equal world.
Jinpeng Chen’s senior portrait. Photo
submitted by James Valente.
maldenblueandgold.com
Number Nine: Ana Pirosca
Lauren Mallett
Managing Editor of Print and
Design
In a class of over 400 students,
graduating in the top 10 is an exceptional
feat. Ranking at number
nine, Ana Pirosca, a class of 2020
graduate and the former Blue and
Gold Editor-in-Chief, was one of the
few to achieve this impressive accomplishment.
To her, being at the top of the
class “[does not] feel any different,”
as she sees it as just a number. For
Pirosca, self satisfaction was the end
goal of her achievement. Knowing
that she could “prove to [herself]
that out of everyone [she] can be [in]
the top ten” means knowing that she
tried, and that is what matters most.
Pirosca was very involved in
the Malden High community during
her four years at the school. She not
only wrote for The Blue and Gold
her whole high school career, but
was also the Head of Multimedia
her junior year and Editor-in-Chief
when she was a senior. Her time on
the newspaper staff taught her many
things, including that “aside from
wanting to be there for other people,
[she] needed to be there for [herself]
too.” She had “a really strong connection
to the people” who took the
class with her, and says that looking
back on what she will miss, “[is] obviously
[The] Blue and Gold.”
There were many other extracurricular
activities that Pirosca was
involved with, including Women in
Science, Psychology Club, Malden
Overcoming Addiction, Peer Leadership
for World of Difference, and
many more. She was a very active
participant in the Malden community
and finds it important for everyone
to “get involved somehow.”
Encouraging students to enjoy
their time at Malden High, Pirosca
stresses the importance of being the
change you want to see and being
active in the community.
Pirosca now attends Boston
College (BC). She was originally unsure
if she wanted to attend BC but
ultimately decided to because “[it is]
Number Ten: Ezra Kruckenberg
heavily involved in school athletics.
He was an outstanding student
athlete, being a member of the Boys
Varsity Indoor Track and a state
qualifier for the high jump multiple
times. He was also captain of the
Varsity Baseball team for the season
that got canceled.
Kruckenberg was very involved
with the community, taking
part in service projects as an Eagle
Scout and serving as President of
the National Honors Society during
his senior year.
As for his plans after high
school, Kruckenberg has been accepted
into Brigham Young University
(BYU). Before he attends,
however, Kruckenberg is serving
on a two-year religious service mission
in Puerto Rico. His service in
Puerto Rico will be to help out the
nearby communities and teach the
doctrines and principles of the gos-
13
more so about the people” there, as
well as focusing on what you can do
for yourself and your community.
She is majoring in biology, with a
focus in bioinformatics, doing premedical
studies, and is considering
a minor in managing social impact,
a special minor offered by BC to determine
how people can use science
to make the world better.
As for her post-college plans,
Pirosca is considering going into
medicine, as it has “been on [her]
radar for a while.” She also considers
bioinformatics to be a career
option, as it has a “really large field,
especially in startup developments”
and is a secure and interesting way
to break into science.
Thinking back to her first days
at Malden High, Pirosca recalls herself
as being “super naive.” She entered
high school with the mindset
that education is a game, and you
just have to play it right. At the end
of the day, she feels that high school
“forced [her] to be a better person”
and taught her to “follow style with
substance.” While the class of 2020
may not have had a traditional senior
year, Pirosca is looking on the
bright side of things. Her experience
showed her that “if you put so
much emphasis on the end [of high
school], you’re not going to enjoy
the duration of it,” a piece of advice
she will pass on to others and continue
to live by.
Ana Pirosca’s senior portrait. Photo
submitted by James Valente.
pel according to The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon his
return, he will be joining the BYU
graduating class of 2026.