Hello Vikings, this is the Norse Code’s eighth edition of Feature Friday. Every Friday, we shine the spotlight on a New Berlin West student, faculty member, club, or event.

This week, Journalism got the chance to talk to Sebastian “Seby” Correa. He is the personification of an academic weapon. When he’s not stacking 5s on AP exams, he competes in international competitions and wins national scholarships.

School has always been natural for Seby. Beginning in elementary school, he was “placed into the advanced math track” which allowed him to get several years ahead in math, culminating with taking AP Calculus BC in his sophomore year and earning a 5 on the exam.

Math has not been the only subject in which he succeeds, Seby describes himself as “way better at social studies than math”. He has or is taking every AP social studies class offered within the school. Combined with the several AP science courses he is also enrolled in, he does not seem to have much of a weakness. 

However, Seby is a human just like the rest of us. The strenuous workload combined with work and extracurriculars makes free time a rare commodity. He has many due dates and commitments which can lead to high stress levels. Seby routinely gets three to four hours of sleep every night as he procrastinates until midnight or later to start on homework. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has found that extreme sleep deprivation is associated with long-term health risks such as diabetes, strokes, and even heart disease. Seby’s friend Elliot Merril described his sleep-deprived state as “looking dead inside” due to his sullen eyes. Furthermore, the large time commitment to academics hampers his ability to spend time with friends and escape school work. 

Some might argue that Seby’s insane work ethic has paid off. He was recently interviewed by Stanford about potential spots at their school and has won numerous awards throughout the years including being a semi-finalist for National Merit and Coca-Cola Scholarships. He has also had the chance to attend the International Career Development Conference for DECA two times In Orlando and Atlanta by placing second and fourth place in the Wisconsin state competition respectively. 

Perhaps the biggest win of Seby’s career thus far was a fully paid trip to Costa Rica through the Spanish National Honor Society (called El Sol at New Berlin West). Through rigorous interviews and questions, Seby and several other fluent Spanish speakers around the country were flown for an all-expenses paid trip where they spoke to locals and learned about the rich culture and biodiversity of Costa Rica, all while making lifelong friendships with each other. For Seby, the trip was “one of the best times in [his] life”. He went on to say “I still keep close contact with all of the people I met there”.

Despite his success at everything he touches, Seby still has an unanswered future. College is looming overhead and he has not made any commitments as to where he will be attending. According to Seby, “Beloit College is my first choice, but I haven’t been accepted yet.   I have my fingers crossed.” If Beloit College is not in the cards, Seby’s backup plans include the likes of “Stanford, Northwestern, and UPenn”.

Seby doesn’t have many concrete goals for the future, but the one thing he is certain of is his hope for “more sleep in the future”.