Staff
Arijit Trivedi
Sophomore Arijit Trivedi has been at Country Day since third grade. When he’s not playing video games, Arijit can be found messing around with his friends. He believes in running everywhere whenever he can. Arijit loves all things “Star Wars” and “Batman” related. He also enjoys math and science (notice it doesn’t say writing). Arijit hopes to eat cheese on the moon someday. Contact at arijtrivedi22@scdsstudent.org.
Emma Boersma
As the sun rises on her last year of high school, senior Emma Boersma has slowly become less flesh and blood and more ice cream and coffee. Also — fun fact — she has used that same gross pencil case since she found it on the ground in Staples in sixth grade. One can often find her correcting people who pronounce La Croix like “Lah Kur-Oi,” promoting her YouTube channel, and defending the Oxford comma. Contact at eboersma20@scdsstudent.org.
Ethan Monasa
Sophomore Ethan Monasa has been at Country Day since kindergarten. He absolutely adores his four cats, who tend to distract him from homework. Outside of Octagon, he is a member of two soccer teams (school and club) and the Concert Band. In his spare time, Ethan enjoys writing fantasy novels. If he’s not doing that, he’s probably rewatching “The Lord of the Rings.” Contact at emonasa22@scdsstudent.org.
Héloïse Schep
Senior Héloïse Schep is a trilingual Dutch expat and stressed out by relaxing. Thus, she’s a four-year member of the Octagon and the Glass Knife; a Mock Trial team captain; the vice president of the a capella club; a member of the Robotics and Book clubs and too many others; and an amateur coder and astrologist. She loves teaching, taking copy-editing quizzes, designing pages and using semicolons. Contact at hschep20@scdsstudent.org.
Jackson Crawford
It’s senior Jackson Crawford’s ninth year at Country Day and second year on the Octagon. He has a younger brother, Peyton, and sister, Makena, who also attend Country Day. He enjoys playing sports, hanging out with friends and waiting until the last minute to finish that paper that was assigned three months ago (just in case someone dare finish it early). However, his patented technique is not for sale. Contact at jcrawford20@scdsstudent.org.
Larkin Barnard-Bahn
Senior Larkin Barnard-Bahn enjoys singing — both in the a cappella club she founded and in the Sacramento Children’s Chorus — baking and finding grammar and spelling mistakes. Such errors in professional situations — such as Planet Fitness’ unhyphenated compound adjective in its “judgment free zone” marketing — are her pet peeves. Her favorite punctuation is the em dash — it’s clear and powerful! Contact at lbarnard-bahn20@scdsstudent.org.
Ming Zhu
Junior Ming Zhu is your go-to person for tech-related topics. Aside from that, he likes to play the clarinet, build computers, play tennis and snowboard. As he is writing his bio, he is worried about the impending armageddon of junior year. Hopefully, he will keep his sanity. Contact at mzhu21@scdsstudent.org.
Nihal Gulati
Nihal Gulati is a rising sophomore at (you guessed it) Country Day. He’s 15, with two cute younger siblings (Saheb, age 12, and Heer, age 3). He’s mostly a laid-back guy who rarely gets mad. Nihal’s hobbies include reading fantasy and gaming, which is why he may walk into you while engrossed in a book. Fun fact: Nihal wants to be a physicist. Also, he still plays Pokemon on his Switch. Contact at ngulati22@scdsstudent.org.
Sanjana Anand
When she’s not scrolling through her Instagram feed watching aesthetic food videos, sophomore Sanjana Anand spends her time napping, procrastinating and watching Netflix (especially “Grey’s Anatomy”). If she’s not doing any of those things (which take up the majority of her time), she enjoys playing tennis, listening to music, trying different kinds of face masks and participating in Mock Trial. Contact at sanand22@scdsstudent.org.
Arikta Trivedi
Sophomore Arikta Trivedi has attended SCDS since the third grade. She is a percussionist in the concert band and Chair of Communications on Student Council. During her free time, she likes to watch her favorite shows, “Friends” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Arikta also loves dogs and enjoys spending time with her 5-year-old golden retriever named Buddy. Contact at ariktrivedi22@scdsstudent.org.
Arjin Claire
Sophomore Arjin Claire has attended Country Day since kindergarten and is in his second year on the Octagon. He is an avid soccer player and enjoys watching “Liverpool FC.” Arjin loves reading, spending time with family and friends, playing video games, drawing, celebrating Christmas and sleeping. Arjin is also a passionate “Harry Potter” fan and would love to discuss the series with anyone. Contact at aclaire22@scdsstudent.org.
Dylan Margolis
Dylan James Margolis is a sophomore at the ripe age of 15. This is his second year reporting for the Octagon. He hasn’t lost all of his baby teeth yet and is a pretty big fan of “Star Wars.” For proof, he predicts that Endor returns in episode 9 with the Ewoks. Lastly, Dylan always has the best story ideas and should get points for all of them. Contact at dmargolis22@scdsstudent.org.
Elise Sommerhaug
Junior Elise Sommerhaug has been attending SCDS since fourth grade. She has participated in the Octagon since freshman year, starting out as a writer but moving to photography one year later. She enjoys playing volleyball and the violin inside and outside of school. Contact at esommerhaug21@scdssrudent.org.
Emily Asperger
When not at the pool or in school, freshman Emily Asperger loves eating and scrolling through Tik Tok. She has attended Country Day for seven years and is a first-year Octagon staffer. She swims competitively year round and has a passion for eating ice cream. She enjoys playing the violin and walking her two dogs. She is definitely still trying to figure out high school. Contact at easperger23@scdsstudent.org
Eric Lechpammer
Eric Lechpammer is a freshman at Country Day who pretends to know what he’s doing. He makes editorial cartoons for the Octagon. He has a younger sibling named Laura (age 8) who also attends Country Day. When he isn’t in class or spending time with his friends, he can be found drawing, participating in Mock Trial, playing video games, running long distances or having long conversations with his cats. Contact at elechpammer23@scdsstudent.org
Hermione Xian
This is junior Hermione Xian’s second year at Country Day and first year on the Octagon as a photographer. She enjoys recording the happiest moments by taking photos, playing basketball and listening to music. She is quiet but is always willing to share interesting ideas. Her goals include contributing great photos and gaining experience by learning new skills as a staff of the octagon. Contact at hxian21@scdsstudent.org
Jacob Chand
Freshman Jacob Chand has been attending Country Day in bright and sunny Sacramento, since Pre-K. This is his first year on the Octagon, and has really no idea what he is doing. Outside the Octagon, Jacob also participates in other school activities including mock trial basketball, soccer, and l. When he isn’t doing those things he is most likely either making his friends laugh or just annoying them. Contact at jchand23@scdsstudent.org.
Miles Morrow
Miles Morrow is a sophomore at Country Day and a second-year Octagon staffer. This is his 12th year at Country Day, and he plans to stay all through high school. In his free time, Miles enjoys playing Minecraft with his friends. His summer consisted of travel and sports and a lot of relaxing and video games — because that’s what it’s for, right? Miles is nervous and excited for his sophomore year. Contact at mmorrow22@scdsstudent.org.
Rebecca Waterson
Senior Rebecca Waterson always has wet hair since she’s a year-round swimmer. Most of her days are spent at the pool, while the rest of her time is split between daydreaming, attempting to sing to her dogs and trying to find time to read her favorite books. She loves all food except seafood, her dislike blossoming from a traumatic experience involving clams. Plus, she could never eat her fish friends! Contact at rwaterson20@scdsstudent.org.
Rod Azghadi
It’s freshman Rod Azghadi’s second year at Country Day and first year on the Octagon. He has a younger brother, Ryan, who always gives Rod a run for his money while playing Smash Bros. together. Rod is known for his unconditional love of the Gutenberg Printing Press, as it is the main reason Rod joined the Octagon. In his spare time, you could probably find Rod missing lay-ups in the basketball gym. Contact at razghadi23@scdsstudent.org.
Samhita Kumar
Freshman Samhita Kumar, like a genie, can be summoned with a magic lamp. She can also be summoned with dark chocolate, the scent of new books and Quiz Bowl questions. In her spare time, Samhita enjoys reading, writing, spending an excessive amount of time on her calligraphy and watching true crime documentaries. On occasion, she will grant wishes. Contact at skumar23@scdsstudent.org.
Shimin Zhang
This is senior Shimin Zhang’s third year on the Octagon as a photographer and first year as a Co-Photo Editor. She enjoys photography and reading during her free time. She also loves classical music and plays piano in the high school chamber group. Her favorite composers are Haydn and Shostakovich. She looks forward to contributing more photos to the print and online edition of Octagon this year. Contact at szhang20@scdsstudent.org.