By Elizabeth Chang
Introduced to Baron Banner by his brother, senior Andrew Hsieh joined Baron Banner during his freshman year. Hsieh’s burgeoning interest in photography found the perfect outlet at Baron Banner, the perfect place for Hsieh to use his camera and gain valuable new experiences.
Taking pictures, folding origami and mastering cardistry are some of the many hobbies that Hsieh enjoys in his free time.
“I need something to do whether that’s run around or have cards in my hands so that I can have something to do,” Hsieh said.
Hsieh journey into the world of magic tricks and cardistry began with inspiration from his brother. . He stumbled upon tutorial videos on Youtube and Instagram, beginning to learn impressive card tricks.
Taking photos at school and sports events were new to Hsieh when he had first started, but he discovered his liking for the “adrenaline feeling” he gets when taking photos and publishing updates and breaking news.
“My favorite thing about Baron Banner is how it feels like a small community because it’s always a zero period and so it feels like this little family that we have in the morning,” Hsieh said.
On top of being in Baron Banner since freshman year, Hsieh has also been a part of the FVHS cross country team since he was a freshman.
“I like cross country because my team is really nice and welcoming. We have a lot of fun on our runs and we’re really goofy,” Hsieh said.
Hsieh’s freshman year of school was online due to the pandemic, but Hsieh was able to grow his photography skills through a competition he learned about through his art class. Hsieh believed that making it to the nationals and getting top 9 for the SkillsUSA photography competition was his greatest achievement so far.
“That was my first time competing with photography, and it was kind of scary because I didn’t like the idea of people judging my pictures because that’s kind of weird. But I learned a lot from it and I also learned how to accept commentary and criticism for photography because I think that’s an important thing too,” Hsieh said.
Recently Hsieh has taken an interest in taking portraits of people and editorial photos with interesting concepts.
“When I was a kid I always watched Phineas and Ferb… I really like Phineas and Ferb just cause it’s cool being able to see all the cool things they can make, and they make me think I can make them even though I can never make them.”
Hsieh’s favorite television show had impacted his passion for cool and creative things and influenced him as a kid.
Hsieh describes himself as “childish and silly,” balancing his academic and extracurricular commitments while having fun with his hobbies and enjoying time with his friends.