Student Features

“All of the people that you meet in life will know something that you don’t,” said Pedro Poli ’21. “I came across that quote one day and pondered it for a few minutes before I realized that this quote perfectly describes my experience at The Hun School.” 

As a wide-eyed fifteen year old, Pedro left Brazil to come to the United States, eager to explore everything that the states had to offer. His first destination was Braintree, Massachusetts, where he attended an independent school in the greater Boston area. After just one year, Pedro found himself traveling to Princeton, New Jersey to attend The Hun School. He notes that as soon as he stepped foot onto Hun’s campus, he knew that his love for learning would be matched by people who love to teach. 

“I can’t believe how much I have learned here in just two years,” he said. “And I don’t just mean in the classroom, I mean from dorm parents, roommates, teachers, and friends. A dorm parent taught me Latin, I learned how to play the piano, I picked up reading philosophy, my roommate from Bahrain taught me about his culture, my friend from Russia taught me a few words in his language, and so much more.” 

As Pedro continues to seek knowledge at every turn, he notes that his plethora of learning experiences at Hun have acted as a constant reminder that no matter who he meets in his life, they are no different than him. 

“Before coming to Hun, I had never had this level of exposure to so many different cultures. Yet here I am, a guy from Brazil, having the same views, opinions, thoughts, and values as people from China, Japan, Bahrain, Russia, Canada, and so on. It really taught me that I don’t ever have to feel alone because somewhere in the world, there are people who think just like me, and I’m so glad I found them here at Hun. They have all taught me something that I didn’t know before.” 

There is no denying that human interaction is something that fuels Pedro, so much so that when he attends The University of Chicago next year, he plans to study neuroscience. 

“My fascination with the brain started back when I was a freshman in high school, but I took an AP Psychology class here at Hun, and I just absolutely fell in love with it,” he said. “In fact, my experiences here at Hun of talking to and meeting so many new people really sparked my interest in pursuing neuroscience.” 

As someone who believes that life loses its meaning when you stop learning, Pedro has big plans to continue his education far beyond the University of Chicago. 

“After college, I want to go straight to medical school, and then after medical school I want to get my PhD,” he said. “I want to stay in school as long as I can and continue to educate myself. The thing that I am most proud of in my life is that I have never disliked school.” 

And while most high school seniors are excited about starting a new journey at college, Pedro is most excited about growing old and continuing to develop as a person. 

“I think I am the only person in the world who is excited to grow old,” he said. “But time is the only currency that you can’t get back, so you might as well embrace it. There is such a beauty in the aging process, growing wiser with age, and developing as a human more and more each day and I just can’t wait to look back at myself one day when I’m much older and see how much I’ve grown.”