Andrew Furst raises his bow. He takes a deep breath, draws back the bow string, steady. Aim. Release. A small click sounds from releasing the string. A whoosh goes by, and a brushing sound emits from the target. A perfect shot. But shot after shot, bullseye after bullseye, Furst started to wear out. Although his shots were deadly on a target, the shots taken at other opportunities seemed to pass by. For the first time in what seems like an eternity, Furst puts down his bow, and pursued his academic interests.
In the midst of the onslaught of college and scholarship applications as a senior, Furst stepped away from his bow and arrows and hit a new target — claiming the podium on the science Sterling Scholar.
Furst is Highland’s Sterling Scholar for science. He has taken intense science classes throughout his course at Highland and is continuing to do so. Being a senior in high school, the stress of trying to squeeze every last penny from scholarships as well as working to get accepted into his first choice college was at times overwhelming. Furst was surprised when he found out he got the nomination.
“The first thing I did was call Kat [Schilling],” Furst said. “She also went for a sterling scholar, so I wanted to let her know.”
He was very proud to report that he alongside some of his companions have achieved an amazing opportunity.
When Furst revealed the news to his family, they were very proud of him.
“They took me out to dinner. But let’s be honest, I just wanted sushi,” Furst said jokingly.
Outside of school, Furst likes to rock climb and work.
“I used to do Archery,” Furst explained, “but then school and college apps took over, and I started to get burnt out.”
In his earlier years, Furst was a competitive archer who shot plenty of arrows daily to try and sharpen his skills. However, the pressure of school and other stressors have driven him to temporarily retire from his hobby.
Furst has recently been accepted into the University of California, Santa Barbara and plans to attend the college in the fall.
“Being a senior is weird,” Furst said. “You want to get through high school but once you leave you have to go to college and then you don’t know what to do again.”