Hitiksha Bansal

she/they

Class of

2022

I am Hitiksha, a first year studying Architecture and minoring in City Planning and Sustainable Design at UC Berkeley CED. Some of my hobbies include model UN, photography, thrifting, and art! I love to be involved in the community and make lasting relationships wherever I go!

If you could give your high school self a piece of advice, what would it be?

don’t try to copy everyone else and have fun :)

Did you have any goals that pushed you throughout high school? How did you approach those? Are you still pursuing them now that you're out of high school? If not, why?

i wanted to figure out what I really wanted to do and I think that was a really big struggle for me cuz it seemed everyone else already had it figured out or were going towards similar fields of study. I explored through trying out different clubs and community college classes and researching on my own time as well, which helped me decide on architecture as a field of study. I think you have to really determine how much your goals matter and like prioritize which ones matter most and then create like a logical plan to approach them. I am still pursuing my goal of being an architect but I am still open to other end goals if they happen to be what I decide I want more.

What experience had the greatest impact on you at EVHS?

I think my hardest classes had the greatest impact in the sense that they showed me life isn’t easy and I can’t just get what I want. They showed me how to persevere and really change my mindset when the situation isn’t what I want it to be.

Have you kept some relationships with the people you were with in high school?

Yeah! I keep in touch with all my close friends from high school both the ones older than me, my age, and the ones younger than me. I made a lot of lasting relationships in high school and I want to maintain them because I truly feel that friends are some of the most important people in your life!

Do you still live in San Jose? Why or why not?

Not really? I live in Berkeley most of the time because that is where I go to college but I do visit from time to time.

What was your primary academic/extracurricular focus in high school?

Discovery till like 11th grade and I realized I was really drawn and passionate about architecture during the summer between 11th and 12th which really was an amalgamation of all my extracurricular and academic activities in high school. The extracurriculars I spent the most time on were robotics, Boy Scouts, swimming, and art!

Are you in college? If so, which college and what major? Are you working? If so, where? If you're not in either of these, what are you doing now?

Uc Berkeley College of Environmental Design- Major: Architecture Minors: City Planning and Sustainable Design