Though freshman year can be a big adjustment for many of the school’s newcomers, freshman Jay Monga didn’t have much to worry about on the first day of school this year. After all, he has already been coming to West for a year to take geometry and earned his biology credit over the summer. Now off-level in both math and science, Monga is quite ahead of the game academically, but that doesn’t stop him from staying involved in extracurricular activities.

When he’s not consumed by what many would consider to be a very rigorous school load for a young freshman, Monga  finds a way to challenge himself academically after school. Already a member of the sci-fi, app deveolpment and riot clubs just five weeks into the school year, Jay hasn’t hesitated to get involved in clubs that pertain to his many interests.

Another of Monga’s interests is music. Having played the violin since he was in kindergarten, Jay was a member of Park View school’s orchestra program from grades one through eight, earning the honor of being chosen for the Judy Porst ISYM musical scholarship for a week of orchestral camp at the University of Illinois in the summer.

After earning concertmaster status in eighth grade in Park View’s top orchestra, his interest in music did not die when he came to high school, either. Now a member of Niles West’s Philharmonic orchestra, Monga makes music on a daily basis in the highest orchestra any freshman is allowed to play in.

Where his true passion lies, however, is in the field of computer science. Already thinking he’ll pursue a career in computer science, Monga began learning about code in sixth grade. He is currently enrolled in AP computer science here at West, where many concepts of code that seem foreign to upperclassmen come naturally to him. He is currently set to compete in Purdue’s high school programming competition later this year and hopes to put hours of studying code to practical use one day.

““It’s interesting to learn about how computers work,” Monga said. “Also, I like video games and I want to make them when I grow up so knowing computer science is important for that,” he added.