Weaving between Gothic architecture, as gusts of chilly air rustle fallen leaves, college freshman Sasha Cabral makes her way from her art class to her political science class while reminiscing about her journey to this moment on the Yale University campus.
Her journey began at a young age, when Cabral first began to immerse herself in visual art with the help of her father.
“My dad’s a musician, so I always grew up with music in the house. He would do murals in the house too, while I was a baby, paintbrush in one hand and then me in the other. When I was a toddler, he let me draw on the walls of the house,” describes Cabral.
Also inspired by her tía, an owner of two businesses, Cabral formed an interest in business and political science, and now works to combine her artistic and STEM passions in her education and future career.
“So far, I want to go to law school, possibly be an attorney … I’ve been looking at entertainment law and going into the business side of entertainment to merge those. I still want to have a creative role involved as well.”
Cabral’s years at CVHS were an important time of learning and development for Cabral, both in terms of personal development and her passions. Entering high school was like entering a new world, virtual and shrouded in mystery as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning high school during such a time, Cabral had to quickly find her footing in her academics and social life.
“Carnegie was definitely like a shock. In comparison in college, I didn’t feel as much of an academic shock now, because I feel like Carnegie really prepared me. So I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m used to this. I know how to tackle it.’”
As her time at CVHS progressed, she gained valuable time management, organizational, and study skills, leading her to feel more prepared when beginning the new chapter of university.
“I’m a really big fan of time blocking, and I still do that now. I use Google Calendar on top of [using a planner], and being able to have a list that you check off physically is really satisfying, to be like ‘I completed that.’ And flashcards. Flashcards got me into Yale, and flashcards will get me out.”
During her time at CVHS, Cabral focused on two main projects, which reflect her love of art and community. These projects have left a lasting legacy at CVHS and within her community. One of the projects has been passed down to another CVHS student, and the other can still be found on campus.
“I did the Star of Hope donations project, and that’s something that’s always brought me a lot of joy, because I’m someone who loves to organize events. The other one that I did with student council was the little library I painted that’s still there. That was a way for me to combine my literary interest with my artistic interest, and have people be involved in that through the process of donating and taking books from the little library.”
While she hasn’t personally continued these projects while at university, her involvement with them has impacted her by offering lessons in confidence that she still carries.
“Putting yourself out there shows you that you can do these things that require more time and organization, because they’re long term projects. […] You never really know what you’re capable of until you try and see how you do with something.”
More than just confidence, Cabral learned from CVHS’s rigorous academic curriculum how to overcome academic challenges and always persevere in the face of uncertainty. She finds that keeping a calm demeanor and focusing on the issue right ahead is the best way to overcome any challenge.
“You will encounter challenges. That doesn’t mean that you’re lacking some sort of skill or expertise—things just happen … Being able to have that balance of focusing on the present but also looking ahead allows you to maximize the time that we have now to make the best life for your future self, whatever that is.”
After the long and meticulous college application process, Cabral now finds herself at Yale University, an outcome which she did not originally expect, despite her having graduated as salutation and being a recipient of the Gates Scholarship and the Chick-fil-A Community Scholars scholarship. Her top choice was the University of Southern California, renowned for its business program, while Yale University instead seemed like a very distant place. In the end though, she says she has found happiness, support, and incredible people at her new home.
“I’m happy with where I’m at now, and knowing that all those things collectively are what led me here. I don’t think I would change it.”
New Haven, Connecticut, is a far cry from Houston in terms of distance, weather, and culture, but Cabral always knew she wanted to go to university out of state, and she is excited for the independence that comes with it. However, the distance is still something to get adjusted to, mostly in terms of keeping in touch with family.
“I call my family every day, and I give them updates on what’s going on. Making sure that you stay connected, whatever that looks like for you, I think is really important. But at the same time, for me personally, I don’t think that I could have grown in my independence without being away.”
Cabral claims the biggest way in which university differs from high school is that one can organize their own schedule however they want, including courses. As someone with a dual interest, Cabral has found Yale to be perfect. It is not uncommon for opposing fields to be connected, whether that be computer science and art or medicine and music.
“Yale is very artsy. A lot of the people here are musicians at the same time that they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m in neuroscience.’ That’s literally amazing.”
Beyond keeping up with the course load of her two majors, Cabral finds time to socialize and continue her artistic passions, but these haven’t been without their own challenges. For example, she describes a project that she created for her art class this semester.
“This particular sculpture had to be made out of found materials, and it had to be monochrome. I was struggling a lot with it, because I was like, ‘Oh, if I only had this material or that material.’ But, that’s part of the challenge. Now I feel like I’ve pushed myself more, and that I’m a bit more open-minded about those types of things creatively.”
Cabral is looking forward to an extracurricular project involving painting a mural in the basement of her residential hall, where social events are periodically held, a nod to the childhood memories of how she was introduced to art in the first place.
In the near future, Cabral hopes to travel the world (including studying abroad in Spain next summer). She says some of her biggest role models, besides her father and her tía, are musicians like Brian May and Tom Morello, the former of which was an astrophysicist who eventually landed on music as his career.
As advice for current high schoolers, Cabral says to work hard, even when failure occurs, and to have faith in what new opportunities and successes the future will inevitably bring.
“I think a lot of people have the misconception that all they see [are] my successes, since they would be posted a lot, but there was such a long list of stuff that didn’t work out. I think you need to be able to know that not everything’s gonna work out, and that’s okay. You can fail at stuff and then still succeed.”
