In 1990, Rebecca Kan was born in the city of Richmond, Canada. Her family relocated to a tranquil and ensconced neighborhood in Brookline, Massachusetts. For as long as she can remember, Rebecca has been traveler. Her vacations were spent in Paris, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, and other cities. From Rebecca’s perspective, airports are portals to foreign cultures, languages, and people. Airplane turbulence replaced roller coasters in Rebecca’s childhood, and her sundry excursions imbued Rebecca with wanderlust. In order to satiate this craving, Rebecca avidly read a plethora of books, each of which contained a world of its own. Her love for reading impelled Rebecca to hone her writing skills, and instilled her with a passion for composing poetry.
Currently, Rebecca resides in a three-story house in Jamaica Plain with her mother, Esther Kan. The first eight years of Rebecca’s education were provided by the Park School. She is now a rising senior in the Boston Latin School, which she entered as a seventh grader. Rebecca is a dedicated member of the Boston Latin School’s Girl’s Varsity Swimming and Diving Team since the eighth grade, and she is also a member of Student Council and BLS Red Cross. During her spare Saturdays, Rebecca volunteers at the Red Cross Food Pantry. For more than eight years, Rebecca played the piano and she also dabbled with playing the flute. Her favorite subjects in school are History, English, and Italian. The integral components of Rebecca’s life are her faith, family, friends, education, swimming, literature, and music.
Although Rebecca is still unsure of what she wants to pursue in life, she is extremely interested in world issues and human rights. Rebecca strongly believes that the government is essential to resolving world conflicts and maintaining stability. Living in Boston and being involved in her community, Rebecca realizes the importance of public service. Rebecca has utilized her last two summer vacations to work in New Orleans and Paraguay with her church’s short term missions program. In New Orleans, she aided residents by gutting their devastated homes so they could rebuild. Conversely, Rebecca lent a hand in constructing a seminary in Paraguay. Both of these experiences have deeply influenced her and opened her eyes to the various hardships which people must endure. At some point in her life, Rebecca hopes to take a few years off and join an aid organization to help with world relief efforts.
At the moment, Rebecca’s college plans are gradually becoming lucid. Rebecca’s mother and father were both the first in their family to attend college in America. In fact, Rebecca’s parents met each other while they were going to the same college. Her sister, Emily Kan, is currently a student at Barnard College in New York City, and Rebecca cannot wait to follow in her family’s footsteps. She is anticipating her last year of high school, but she knows that by the end of senior year she will be overcome with nostalgia. She is taking a full course-load during her senior year including AP Italian, AP Literature, Economics, and AP Government. In the future, Rebecca hopes to live abroad and learn more languages.
This summer Rebecca is working for James Hunt, Chief of Environmental and Energy Services.