A member of the Varsity Jazz Ensemble, National Business Honors Society, Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra, and Warde TV Senior Producer, you can catch Benjamin Grambs all over school in many different activities. Like many of the other seniors, he is worried about applying to college, but has an added twist: ROTC applications. The Focus sat down Grambs to learn more about his accomplishments at Warde and what he is hoping for his future.
Focus: Congratulations on being a senior producer of Warde TV! How does it feel to get to be a part of such an amazing project?
Grambs: Being a part of Warde TV has definitely been a delight. Getting to work with Isaac Liu, Lulu Diaz, and Mike Chapin, as well as some of our other producers, such as Mustafa Ibrahim and Erin Harrington, has really been an insightful experience. We often work for hours after school on Wednesday and Thursday to bust out the episode, and having the opportunity to manage all the behind the scenes work can definitely be a lot to handle, but it’s very enjoyable.
F: What do you think drew you to Warde TV?
G: When I was a freshman here at Warde and got to take a look at the production of Warde TV, I was amazed at how dedicated and enthusiastic everyone was about what they were doing. The professionalism of how things were carried out for a student-run activity was very impressive; it was something I wanted to be a part of. Looking back after four years, the fun in helping to plan the segments (especially with our off-beat humor) and getting to edit the final product has always kept me drawn to Warde TV.
F: As a part of your post-high school plans you’ve decided to enroll in ROTC. What led you to make that choice?
G: Well, ever since I could imagine, I’ve always been fascinated by military affairs and technology. I would go to airshows, sit down with veterans, and do a lot of personal research into the military at a pretty young age. The history, potential, and sheer might of our nation’s armed forces has always had an interesting kind of lure for me. My grandparents on both sides of my family served in the army during WWII as well, so getting to continue my family’s legacy of serving our country was also something that held a lot of weight for me.
F: Does applying to ROTC make the college application process much different?
G: It doesn’t make the college process much different, but there is a lot more work you have to do. If you apply to ROTC during high school, you apply for either a three or four year scholarship (which covers the cost of college tuition, quite a big bonus). I’m not sure how it works for the other branches, but for the army, you essentially have to fill out their version of the Common App, sit down for an interview, and meet several physical fitness standards, but it’s been worth it for me.
F: A lot of seniors are starting to hit their “senior slump” or “senioritis.” How are you dealing with that?
G: Honestly, senioritis has just started to kick in for me, but it hasn’t been all that bad. Teachers generally start to take their foot off the gas at the start of second semester, so the workload is easier, but it’s still there nonetheless. Even at that, everything has generally been a lot more chill, but I definitely wouldn’t say I’ve become apathetic about my academics just yet.
F: What has been your proudest accomplishment in your high school years?
G: Last summer, for 10 days I actually got to go on tour in Iceland and Scotland with the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestra Symphony and Principle Orchestras. The whole thing was a pretty big deal; in Iceland, we got to perform in Harpa Hall, Iceland’s premiere concert venue, where they actually featured us on the news. It was definitely a professional and well put together group that I was very proud to be a part of.
F: Finally, with your time at Warde coming to a close, what’s a “Mustang Memory” you’ll never forget?
G: There was this one time the muffler on my car came a little loose, so I let my friends in autoshop take care of it for an ‘assignment’ in class. Come around the end of the day when they’re finished with the car and parked it back in my spot, I started the engine and heard a freaking earthquake behind me. I found out that they decided to have a little fun and straight-piped (removing the muffler completely) my dinky little Subaru Impreza. The thing sounded like a monster truck. Needless to say we had to put the muffler back on, but it was definitely one of my funnier moments at Warde.