“Taking online courses advanced my education by providing me the flexibility to understand the content in a similar way as I would have in a regular course while also being asynchronous. The notes are always so meticulous, refined, and cover a wide breadth of information that I am always prepared at the end of the class. This approach has given me more time to complete and study individual assignments and use those class periods in school to do other tasks like talking to counselors or other teachers in a way I wouldn’t have been able to before due to online learning.” – Owais K.
“Owais is a dedicated member of the NCVPS Peer Tutoring Center. When a new tutor comes on board, Owais is always the first to welcome the student and assist with questions and concerns. He is consistent and reliable. This semester, the PTC transitioned to a new platform (Brainfuse) and Owais is logging hours with students who need assistance and helping our other tutors navigate Brainfuse. I recently asked him about his most recent tutoring sessions because I had noticed that one student was requesting his help quite often. This was his response, “Thank you! I was in her position just a year ago so I got a good idea of how to really help her out!” He offers perspective, compassion and intelligence. This is also why he is a co-lead for Team #2 in the PTC!” – Mrs. Angela Knight, NCVPS Peer Tutoring Center Instructional Leader
“Owais is a super student and should be nominated for his exceptional dedication and leadership. Owais consistently surpasses expectations, going above and beyond in all assignments. His commitment to academic excellence is evident in his work, and he actively contributes to the success of his peers by providing guidance and support. Owais’s exemplary qualities make him not only a standout student but also a positive influence within the NCVPS community.” – Mrs. Kathy Lynn, NCVPS AP Physics Instructor
Owais’s Work
Owais’s Story
My name is Owais Kamran. I am a senior at Central Cabarrus High School in the STEM program and I hope to major in biomedical engineering. My most favorite subject is math but I more greatly enjoy seeing how different school disciplines connect to each other, like how physics makes up chemistry and how chemistry makes up biology, or statistical patterns in English like with Zipf’s Law. As an individual, I would describe myself as an explorer, trying to dabble in as many areas as I can, whether it be different sports or hobbies or subjects, to get a sense of what would best interest me.
My aspirations and character have been most shaped by my family. My older sister is a trailblazer, helping me succeed in life because she’s gone through the struggles of, say, finding extracurriculars or college application information that I might not have found the time to scour through myself. My family has supported me the entire way in my educational journey and always push me outside of my comfort zone because they know it’s ultimately best for me in the long run. There were times where I didn’t want to go to speech and debate competitions or science fairs because I thought I would fail, but they made me go anyways to learn from those experiences, and with each situation I would invariably learn something beneficial because they had provided the impetus to explore beyond what I already know and do. I believe that I am single-handedly the culmination of these internal and external motivations towards school and my personal life.
Online Experience
The first NCVPS class I took was honors pre-calculus in the summer of my freshman year. Taking advice from my older sister, I had planned out multiple pathways and class selections throughout my 4 years of high-school, and found that the most flexible option would involve doubling-up on math and taking calculus in my sophomore year. From then on, after seeing so much benefit and growth from this NCVPS class, I have taken more classes like AP Environmental Science, AP Calculus BC, and, currently, AP Physics 1.
Having more flexibility and time were always pleasant surprises. Also, being able to pace myself according to the deadlines of each assignment and knowing all the tasks I had to complete right in front of me on the Canvas course meant that I’d almost never forget about an assignment and didn’t have to worry about planning each day of homework in advance.
Just because it’s an online class doesn’t mean that you have to study solely without a teacher. I’ve found the best feedback by recording a screencast of me working through a problem, sending that video to my teacher, and being able to see direct advice on what to do because I could best elucidate my thoughts using the video.
Outside of School
I enjoy a wide variety of hobbies. The most niche hobby I have is pen spinning, which uses a weighted pen modification and involves performing many tricks using just dexterity. Each trick requires an extremely lengthy amount of time to perform, but being able to finally land a trick consistently provides a boost of energy and joy that keeps me going and constantly improving.
I also enjoy speedcubing, yo-yos, reading before I go to bed, exercises in calisthenics like deadhangs and pull-ups, running and biking in my neighborhood, and watching YouTube.
My favorite book is “What If?”, a compilation of serious scientific answers to questions submitted by online users, and the author is a former NASA scientist who now runs a webcomic called xkcd.com. Not only is the book hilarious by diving into the limits of curiosity, but it’s also really informative as well.
My favorite musician (well, it’s more like a band), is Wintergatan, a Swedish band run primarily by a Swedish composer, Martin Molin. Most of the iconic songs use instruments engineered by Molin and his team, like a marble machine that only uses marbles to play music, or a music box that uses punch-cards to play a note based on each punch. The engineering skills and documentation of his newest Marble Machine project on YouTube is so impressive.
Goals & Plans
A goal I had this semester was to rekindle old friendships and connections. When COVID hit right at my last year of middle school, I didn’t have a phone and couldn’t get the contact information of my closest friends, so I grew somewhat distant from them. Now that I’ve gotten more contact information and can more easily connect with these friends, I’m making a deliberate, constant effort to talk with them, catch up and see how they’re doing, and go on a few outings here and there.
My future plans are to become a biomedical engineer, work out more often and go to the gym, and to continue to learn more skills like begleri (2 beads connected by a string) skill toys. I hope to use my college education and the connections I make there to propel myself further to these goals while also expanding into more areas of interest based on the friendships and relevant extracurricular and/or research opportunities around me. I plan to set aside time each day in college to go to the gym, hang out with friends, and hone my skills in the hobbies I wish to learn.
Fun Facts
My favorite show is Avatar: The Last Airbender. My favorite movie is either How to Train Your Dragon or Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
I am double jointed in all of my fingers
Nature To Go’s Hazy Days trail mix is my favorite snack. It contains just the perfect blend of healthy cranberries, almonds, and peanuts with chunks of unsweetened dark chocolate.
Realistically, I could not live without my Chromebook since it’s so lightweight, and I carry it around everywhere for work. The pen I use for pen spinning is also a strong contender since I always pen spin whenever I want to calm myself down or when I’m bored.
Personal Notes
The most significant personal growth opportunities were summer residential programs in my 10th and 11th grade summers. In 10th grade, I stayed at Appalachian State for a program called Summer Ventures from the North Carolina School of Science and Math where I conducted biochemistry research, made lifelong friends in my cohort of 51, hiked around Appalachia, visited antique shops, and so much more. In 11th grade, I went to Meredith College for Governor’s School to study mathematics, and had a similar enjoyable experience there as well.
The main reason why I’ve loved volunteering in the Peer-Tutoring Center at NCVPS so much was not only to help students gain a new perspective on problems and avoid the pitfalls I went through on some school subjects, but also to inspire them to be lifelong learners and enjoy education for beyond the sake of just a grade. I personally enjoy math not because I had to study AP Calculus BC, but because I love watching youtubers like 3Blue1Brown, Vsauce, Veritasium, and Matt Parker who help me gain a deeper appreciation for these subjects.
