Between his extra-curricular activities, his academic success and his amiable personality, senior Nicholas Markarian is a bright, well-rounded and incredibly friendly student.

Markarian currently is a part of both the cross-country and track teams. As a senior, Markarian now has the opportunity to mentor younger students.

“I love it. We are all a really tight family, especially because of how the frosh-soph, [Junior Varsity], and Varsity squads are integrated at practices,” Markarian said. “There’s a good spread of people. We all joke and have a fun time.”

Markarian is also a part of Science Olympiad, with his best friend, Thomas Qin.

“Thomas Qin and I thought we’d be great partners to compete, but in reality, we were not a good pair and would just distract and joke with one another,” Markarian said.

When he is not at school, Markarian goes to the Westminster Free Clinic every other Wednesday, where he volunteers.

“My pediatrician, spur of the moment, told my sister and I [that we] should try volunteering there,” Markarian said.

Markarian said volunteering with people from other backgrounds and helping patients were the parts of his work that he most enjoyed.

“[T]he patients… always leave the doors of the clinic with a smile on their face better off than they were before,” Markarian said.

Volunteering at the clinic was, as Markarian described it, part of a “path” that convinced him that he should become a doctor. He related an experience of getting to know a patient that recovered from alcoholism.

“I met him before I knew I wanted to become a doctor,” Markarian said. “At the time, it was interesting how important his emotions were to get him to quit — after one bad episode, he was able to transform and overcome this obstacle. The transformations are meaningful.”

Markarian also has been volunteering at the Aquarium of the Pacific since his freshman year and recommends that everyone visit it.

“You can actually touch the sting rays and jelly fish now, at the touch exhibits,” Markarian said. “I end up telling a lot of the people to ‘not lick the jellyfish.’”

Many students may wonder how Markarian manages all these activities — his advice? Deal with stress well.

“Now is not ‘go time’ — that time will come in grad school,” Markarian said. “Keep your foot on the gas pedal. Achieve as much as you can, but do not overextend yourself.”