Nirja Divekar, Staff Writer
A freshman at Jefferson, Nirja is new to staff writing and deadlines. With a previous interest in creative writing and photography, she has experience with short stories and photo essays. Adding onto her journalistic interests, Nirja has 8 years of piano experience and is working on musical composition. At the age of 9, she taught herself how to play the guitar and ukulele. She played on Jefferson’s Freshman Volleyball Team in the Fall season and is currently a member of Jefferson’s Freshman Girls Basketball Team. Nirja chose to write for tjTODAY because she wanted to explore humanities while also pursuing a STEM education. She has a great interest in Biology and hopes to explore that field as she works her way through high school, but is still open to discovering new interests.
![Juniors Caroline Chen, Shruti Rajesh, Meera Gupta, and Amber Garcha participate in a Challenge Success Student Forum. “[We hope] to find what teachers and the admin can do to help make the students’ lives better,” said Amber Garcha, leader of this forum, where students are encouraged to share ideas about how to improve Jefferson.](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-05-at-11.48.54-AM-900x574.png)
![Dr. Fabio Zuluaga, assistant superintendent for Region 2 surprises Dr. Bonitatibus with the Region 2 Principal of the Year award. "Two and a half years ago I entered [Jefferson] with a dream that we would be leaders in bringing wellness and balance to the forefront of the [Jefferson] experience, without sacrificing academic excellence," Bonitatibus said. "I am truly humbled and honored to represent such an exceptional faculty, staff, student and parent community."](https://www.tjtoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/boni-900x506.jpg)
