Andrada Deaconescu

We have a new member of our bearcat family in the form of Romanian born Andrada Lorelei Deaonescu. Andrada lived in Bucharest, Romania before moving to Foster City on February 2, 2007. She now lives with her stepfather, three stepbrothers and stepsister. Her siblings are all in there twenties.

Andrada has many nicknames; her favorite being "Dizzy" given to her by her friends because she tends to be all over the place. She was born on May 31, 1990 and is a junior in high school. Back in Romania, she was an active member of graffiti club, which is a legal institution over there. She enjoys playing basketball and tennis and her favorite actors are Christian Bale and James McAvoy as well as Romanian actor Horahu Meloiele. She loves punk rock music, although her favorite band is a hip-hop based one. In her spare time she likes listening to music, hanging out with her friends, playing sports, and taking photographs.

She prefers California over Romania because she thinks it's different "in every single way. The people, the school, the mentality, the way it looks, everything." She lived in an apartment in Romania but now enjoys living in a spacious house in Foster City. She really misses her boyfriend Andre in Romania and is unofficially engaged to him.

She would like to become a journalist after she graduates from college. She doesn't plan on moving back to Romania anytime soon but she will be going back there to visit her friends and family.

Jessica Campus

Jessica recently began school at SMHS this semester. She is from Hillsdale High School and she did not move from her original house but rather traded schools for her boyfriend. She is sixteen and was born on November 17, 1991.

She is a sophomore who loves Child Development class and loves kids. She worked at a day care and really enjoyed working with the kids.

She doesn't have her license yet but really likes to listen to rap and r&b music. She doesn't have a favorite movie or a favorite musician. She loves to play volleyball and is on the team with fellow bearcat Monica Shao.

Jessica likes San Mateo High School because, "it's just better." She has two sisters, one of whom also attended SMHS.

Her future goal is to graduate. She has not yet decided on any career paths.

Oscar Ramirez

Oscar Ramirez is a 15-year-old sophomore from Mexico. He was born on October 1, 1992. Seemingly shy at first, he had a lot to say about his move to the United States. He moved from Mexico last year and he loves living in the U.S. because "it has more opportunities." When he was in Mexico, he lived on a ranch. "I used to ride horses. It was one of my hobbies over there." He now lives in San Mateo with two of his brothers while another one of his brothers lives in Mexico.

His other interests include soccer. "My favorite team is Guadalajara. It's a Mexican team." He isn't in any clubs but he used to be on a sports team until he quit. Oscar's favorite movie is The Mist and although he couldn't pick a favorite music artist, his favorite music is Hip Hop and Rap. He really likes his ELD class that is taught by Mr. Faber.

Oscar really wants to finish high school and go to college so he can get a good job.

Welcome Oscar!

Sasha Chiu

Raquel Ann Sasha Chiu, better known as just Sasha Chiu, recently moved to the United States from Toronto, Canada. She is a 17 year old senior who was born on September 29, 1990. She is also an only child and loves it.

Sasha enjoys many extracurricular activities such as attending the survey club. She just donated her hair to Locks of Love, something she has been wanting to do for a while. She likes to shop and go to crazy, wild parties. When asked what her favorite movie was, she responded with "I have so many, oh my god," but finally settled with two holiday favorites, Halloween and Christmas Carol. Her favorite type of music is classical but her favorite musicians are Hilary Duff, The Spice Girls, and Britney Spears. Sasha is also a vegetarian and hasn't eaten meat since February of this year. She aides for Mr. Faber's ELD class and really enjoys it. "I love Mr. Faber because he's nice. He has a large attention span and a great amount of patience."

She lives in San Mateo now with her mother and her stepfather. She enjoys living here better than living in Canada. She thinks the weather is better and it's more diverse. On the differences between Canada and the U.S., Sasha thinks "Canada is more liberal and democratic. There is free health care and gay marriage is allowed." She loves San Mateo High School because of the campus. "I like how we embrace all different cultures and I love the spirit." Sasha attended Etobicoke Collegiate Institute before transferring to San Mateo High.

Sasha plans on going to college, preferably San Diego State, and then getting married. She wants to adopt two kids and she hopes to get twins.

Jessica Hu

Jessica Hu is the cousin of fellow bearcater Monica Shao. Jessica is a sophmore and was born on November 7, 1990.

She moved here from Taiwan three months ago during the summer. Jessica lives in Foster City with her brother and aunt. She prefers living here in the U.S. On the differences of living here and in Taiwan, Jessica says "the people are kinder here and school is fun." She loves San Mateo High School because of all the school spirit. Jessica's favorite class is P.E.

Jessica enjoys hanging out with her friends and shopping. She is in colorguard where she is in the flag line. She doesn't have any favorite movies but she prefers "scary and funny movies." She hasn't yet decided on what she plans to do in the future as far as college and careers go.

Angel Padilla

A recent transfer student from Aragon High School, senior Angel Padilla likes to spend his free time eating, chilling, and watching television.

Angel was born on January 13, 1990 in Miami, Florida. Although he only lived there until he was one, he periodically returns to his birth place. He enjoys living in San Mateo more, claiming "The trees are greener over at San Mateo." Before attending Aragon his junior year, he went to Hannah's Boys Center up in Sonoma. It was a boarding school which he spent his freshman and sophomore years before he got kicked out. He got kicked out for stealing snacks from the kitchen and then selling it to the kids who were always hungry. He liked going there but he thought "It was up in the boonies. There was nothing up there." On whether he likes San Mateo or Aragon better, "San Mateo High is less cracking" according to Angel.

His favorite movies are Half Baked and New Jack City, both made in the 1990s. He likes to listen to Husalah and The Jacka. Angel also likes to rap in his free time. He has one older sister who is 27 years old. He kind of skateboards but "not so much anymore."

In the future Angel would like to "do something in psychology" or work with people.

Sean Hwang

Although this fifteen year old sophomore is new to San Mateo High, he is not new to the San Mateo/Foster City area. Sean Hwang used to attend High Tech High Bayshore which closed down earlier this year. "It's a bit of a funny name but it was a great school. It closed down at the end of the year last year due to lack of students and therefore, funding." He currently lives in Foster City with his parents and his five year old brother Ian.

He likes San Mateo High because, "there's always new people to meet." ? was a lot different than San Mateo High. "My old school didn't really have PE. They had substitutes for PE, like dance, or yoga, or even Tae Kwon Do. The classes were different too. They had a Math Physics and Humanities instead of the traditional Level Math, Physics, Social Studies, and English. The teaching format was really casual but you learn a lot. Most teachers had us call them by their first names which was just really cool."

In his free time Sean enjoys a long list of hobbies and activities including reading, drawing, video games, debating, and hanging out with friends. He is also in many clubs at such as the D&D Club, Chess Club and he is in Colorguard/Winterguard. His favorite movie is The Matrix because it "teaches a lot about belief and reality." His favorite class is either drawing or English. "Drawing because I learn stuff, English because its just a goof off class, but I still get good grades in it."

Sean wants to get into a UC college or an Ivy League after graduation. "I want a job that will make me want to get up every morning to go to it."