Usually found in the San Francisco Bay, spending time with friends, or helping people work on their stories in journalism, Eitan Boaz has fulfilled and exceeded expectations of what a “normal” highschool student should be.
Year-round after school, Eitan competes in aquatic sports on the water polo team (in the fall semester) and the swim team (in the spring semester). He says,”It brings structure to my days and both my sports involve a team. Playing a sport where the time you put into it shows is very fun and rewarding.” Additionally, Eitan also helps in Bearcat Den, tutors on the weekends, and peer tutors during tutorial. With over 250 hours of community service, he has more than doubled the average community service hours per person in California (collegevine.com) .
For three of his four years at SMHS, Eitan has been an active participant in Mr. Pirie’s journalism class. Starting out as a staff writer, Eitan enjoyed the atmosphere of the class and the opportunity to write and inform others. By junior year Eitan had been promoted to Sports Editor. “Having the ability to talk and coordinate an agency was pretty cool to me,” said Eitan when reflecting on his junior year. He also explained that this is when he really began wanting to take on a larger leadership role.
By the time this school year came around, Eitan had earned the title of Editor-in-Chief at the San Mateo Hi. Meera Walsh, a freshman and staff writer at the SM Hi, explains that, “he basically acts like our second teacher, and he’s a very empathetic person; whenever I or someone else is having trouble with a story idea, he comes over and helps out.” Eitan is a mentor to many in the class, and he motivates and actively leads the class to produce our school’s newspapers.
Eitan is a great student in school, but he is also an accomplished athlete.. He says that participating in sports” brings structure to my days, and both my sports involve a team and community that I’ve gotten to know well. Playing a sport where the time you put into it reflects in meets and games is also very fun and rewarding.”
He loves to extend his swimming repertoire by swimming in the San Francisco Bay on the weekends. He says that he loves how doing so“is very refreshing and—although it is cold—it raises dopamine levels, which essentially makes me more motivated and happy.” Aiden Lee talked about him, saying that “he’s always smiling, and ready to take on a new challenge…he’s willing to do whatever it takes for others to succeed along with himself.” His friends on his teams also enjoy being around Eitan because he influences them to be better versions of themselves.
Whether volunteering to help someone with academics, helping a classmate, or making people smile at practice, Eitan’s work ethic, perseverance, and positive impact on his peers shine through and make him an inspiration to many.