By Reese Meister
Junior Kevin Sears’s cheerful disposition and positive mindset make him the type of person that anyone would want to be friends with. Whether he is cracking a few jokes to make you smile or asking how you’re doing, Sears is simply a nice person to be around. When Sears is asked to describe himself, though, he instead offers up an image of who he wants to become.
“I want to have integrity,” Sears said. “The definition of integrity kind of changes, but the definition that I go with was what my 6th grade teacher told me. He said integrity is ‘doing the right thing when no one else is watching,’ so that’s the definition I chose to stick with.”
Sears has carried this inspirational attitude to his work in Baron Banner, which he first heard about through his older brother, who was not in the class but had recommended it based on a friend’s experience. However, Sears’ main goal in joining was to improve his writing skills in order to bring about change. He admits that he is intimidated by the challenge of writing and receiving feedback for his work but also acknowledges the growth and learning that will come as a result.
“One of my greatest fears is helplessness, and I believe at the core of being helpless is not being able to communicate with others,” Sears said. “By becoming a better writer, I want to be able to better articulate my thoughts and any problems that would come by [so] as to not be helpless.”
As the youngest of four kids, Sears looks up to his older siblings—each for different reasons. He admires his sister Michelle’s kindness and empathy, his brother Peter’s hard working and goal-oriented mindset and his sister Nicole’s “unique” personality. However, he especially values the role that his mom has played in his life.
“[It’s] kind of cliche, but my greatest inspiration is my mom. She was a refugee from Vietnam—[she] came over, and that’s very tough,” Sears said. “She’s always been a hard working lady, and I don’t know how she keeps up with herself and maintains motivation because, as a high school student right now, I find myself facing so many struggles just maintaining my effort.”
In addition to Baron Banner, Sears has been an active member in both Model United Nations (MUN) and Academic World Quest. He highly recommends taking MUN, which he credits with teaching him the ability to speak about difficult topics that he doesn’t always agree with. At conferences, he finds himself presenting topics ranging from climate change to nuclear waste disposal.
“I would go and represent Venezuela, and I would speak to other students my age on the topic,” Sears said. “It’s really fascinating just seeing how other people think, and it’s a great way just to have the opportunity to talk.”
While Sears is heavily involved in several academic extracurricular activities, he sometimes just wants to enjoy some of his favorite pastimes, including reading manga or chatting with friends on Discord. Notably, he has also discovered the secret to productive procrastination: doing chores, reading or going on a run instead of doing homework.
Sears also greatly enjoys listening to music. Although Sears’ favorite artist varies frequently, his most listened to genres include pop, rock, K-pop and, according to his Spotify stats, something called permanent wave. He currently enjoys listening to the songs “Beautiful Boy” by John Lennon, “Milk” by Sweet Trip and “Kill This Love” by BLACKPINK.
When presented with the theoretical opportunity of meeting a fictional character, Sears first needed to confirm if it could have “benevolent superpowers.” Assuming that it could, his immediate decision would be a genie that could grant three wishes. And yes, his first wish would be for more wishes.
In the future, Sears plans to attend college, aiming to hopefully attend Stanford University. For his junior year, though, his main goals include meeting new people and experiencing “a new taste of life.”