Lauryn Takanishi '21 Recruiting Profile

I am looking for a college that is a good fit for my academic, athletic, and extracurricular goals. I will take full advantage of the provided general education core classes, major requirements, and elective classes to prepare me for any career in medicine through its focus on critical thinking, communication, problem solving and collaboration. I believe these are the essential skills we need for life, in addition to a growth mindset and compassionate empathy.

I would like to major in biology and psychology with a minor in music. Psychology and music will support and strengthen my ability to connect with my patients when I am practicing medicine 12 years from now. Knowledge of psychology theories will give me a deeper understanding of how to meet the holistic needs of people. I will help my patients make the best decisions for themselves, since lifestyle changes and a positive mindset strongly influence overall health and happiness. Becoming a gastroenterologist is my future goal because of my personal experience after I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease two years ago.

As a 13-year accomplished violinist, music is a big part of my life. Playing in Iolani’s Orchestra 5 for four years and the Hawaii Youth Symphony 1 for 3 years, I have experience in contributing and being in orchestra and music ensembles. I also enjoyed playing the viola for 3 years in scholarship quartets and 1 year in a scholarship quintet. I would love to minor in music and become a member of the orchestra, if the university provides that opportunity.

In addition to academics and music, I would like to compete on the swimming and diving team as a springboard diver. As the past Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) Junior Varsity Champion and 2nd place ILH Varsity Champion, I would love to compete at the collegiate level to sharpen my mental and physical skills and well-being.

I have been learning, training, competing in, and loving springboard diving for five years now, and I am excited to continue at the collegiate level! I have found that diving is a combination of life skills and attitudes and it has given so much to me as an athlete, scholar, and as a person.

I think of diving as a symphony of skills that work together for athletes, but it is also an art. I took dance classes in ballet, contemporary jazz, hip hop, and was a member of a dance team for eight years. I still love dance while using both the power and grace of dance techniques in my diving. I have also taken gymnastics and trampoline for seven years and I can apply balance, flexibility, and body control in my approach and execution the dives on my current (and future) lists. I like that diving requires strength, concentration, control, timing, body awareness, and grace. When all of those things are put together, diving is not just a sport; diving is an art!

In addition to being a sport and an art, diving is also a science, and it has helped me grow as a scholar. The physics of the sport is so interesting and I have had fun studying Newton’s Third Law of Motion, velocity, momentum, torque, and conservation of angular momentum to help me understand how everything works together to approach the perfect dive. Knowing the basic physics concepts, I enjoy analyzing my videos to see how and where I can improve. Excelling in academics is also very important to me, so I have learned how to be organized and use my time wisely so I do well, both in school (as a biology major) and at the pool!

Diving has shaped me into the person I am today. Two of the most important things I learned is perseverance and resilience. My coaches are so awesome because they teach and give me great feedback to help me improve! It’s then up to me to take the feedback and work really hard to “level up” and polish my dives. Sometimes I catch on and can execute pretty quickly, but sometimes it takes many repetitions and adjustments before I can get it. In the meantime, I learn from my mistakes and grit and resiliency keep me on track. After focusing hard, it’s really rewarding when I can perform a dive consistently well and with confidence!

Finally, the diving community has been like another family to me. As our Varsity diving team co-captain, I have made many good friends and we support each other! I plan social events, lead warm-ups, do yoga for divers, and give feedback to our junior varsity divers. I have also helped to create a video that focuses on core strength conditioning that our diving team members can use at home. I also got to know divers from other schools and we all cheer each other on! I really hope that I can dive at the collegiate level next year, and for three years after that until I graduate in 2025!

Other Accomplishments: 

Character & Citizenship
-Raider Award
-Orchestra Award
-Art Award

Academic Achievement
-3.9 cumulative GPA, Headmaster’s List, Top Scholar
-Honors Courses: Independent Research (2 years), Biology, Geometry, Algebra 2
-AP courses: Biology, English Literature, AB Calculus

Leadership
-Co-captain of the ‘Iolani Diving Team 2020-2021 season

Athletics
-1st place Diving JV champion (2018)
-2nd place Diving Vars champion (2019)
-Diving 5th (2018), 6th (2019) at Hawaii High School Athletic Association State Tournament
-JV/Vars track and field - long and triple jump, JV kayaking, INT/JV cross country
-Tropic Lightning Diving Club (Invitational 1st place in 1 meter)

Community Service
-Collected and donated 400 books (for children) to the Palolo residential housing association
-I-CAN (Iolani Community Action Network): cleaned, beautified Moiliili cemetery and Palolo family housing unit.
-‘Iolani Fair Chair - Logo

Extracurricular
-Orchestra 5 (violin) 4 years
-Scholarship Quartet as a violist (Tanoe, Bel Canto, Cooke)
-Hawaii Youth Symphony 1 (violin)
-Selected as a Concerto Concert Soloist (violin): Will be performing Scene de Ballet by DeBeriot, February 2021