Meet Our Team

Greta Booth

Hi everyone! I love writing about everything, especially opinion pieces. I love to travel, eat, be with animals, and spend time with my friends and family. I can't wait to be a part of The Spark this year!

Instagram

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Ted Lasso Season Four Drops the Ball

The newest season of Ted Lasso is an embarrassment to the entire series. They continue to find ways to make the season uncomfortable, sexist, and appalling.

Greta Booth • What's Hot

Myungjun Kang

Born in Korea, living in Singapore, attending an American international school. Avid forgetter of important tasks and events. Tends to act like a rabid dog around sweet treats. Longing to answer the question of "Who Am I?" through my writing.

1 post

외국인 (Foreigner)

I was born in Seoul, while living in Singapore for 12 years. At sixteen, when bleeding out on a basketball court, a coach questions which one of those identities I really am. But in eighteen months, the same country that questioned my belonging will draft me.

Myungjun Kang

Dia Bhandari

I'm a lover of all things pink. I love the beach, hiking, and eating food (especially Din Tai Fung), and I make the best chocolate chip cookies. I enjoy writing about things I find weird about the world, and I'm super passionate about politics!

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Can I Sit Here Today?

At Singapore American School, your table at lunch seems to define your place. You have a fixed group of friends, and a fixed location—a single piece in the jigsaw puzzle of the school community. But are the cracks between pieces given? Or are we unnecessarily carving them out?

Dia Bhandari • Issue 1: Fitting In

Lana Zuckerman

Hey guys! Im a concert lover who is always down to explore new cities and people-watch. I also love hiking, cooking, and hanging out with friends. You will likely find me writing about popular culture, trends, and things in the news.

Instagram

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Just Admit You Studied

Why do we work hard, only to pretend we didn’t try? For many students, downplaying effort protects self-esteem while maintaining an image of effortless success. But our obsession with seeming carefree may say more about us than the achievements we’re trying to minimize.

Lana Zuckerman

Aditi Razdan

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We Regret to Inform You

In high school, it seems like every friend group is “rejecting” a new “applicant.” Through an enigmatic process harsher than sports tryouts, The Friendgroup has reviewed your attempt to fit in. We regret to inform you: You did not make the cut (probably for the better…).

Aditi Razdan

Zahra Tran Butler

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Teacakes and Tangos

From Saturday nights at my Nana's to the reality TV show's massive social media success, Dancing with the Stars returns for Season 35. The dance competition series’ tight-knit, familial dynamic draws in younger audiences as they watch their favorite celebrities chase the Mirrorball Trophy.

Zahra Tran Butler

Siena Abraham

I love chemistry, Minecraft, linguistics, Moomin, cooking, Cosmoem, long walks, Pinterest, physics, and history. 🦕

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How Brainrot Increases Sense of Belonging in Teenagers

News Flash: 67 is dead. Still, brainrot isn't going anywhere. What does this style of content mean for the teenagers who devote their time to scrolling their life away?

Siena Abraham

Daniel He

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Loud American Kids

It seems like international schools are filled with loud American kids—obnoxious students who have no spacial awareness. But Singapore American School shows us that’s not really true. The students just face some unique circumstances.

Daniel He

Tanya Arora

My Pinterest boards package my personality. Gilmore Girls, a board with 139 pins, ignited my journalistic impulse. Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS, 133 pins, weaves the melodies of my soul. The board with 1300 pins? Well, that’s one secret I’ll never tell.

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Three Haunting Lyrics From Afghanistan’s Anonymous Burka Band

Afghanistan's anonymous Burka Band recently grasped internet attention for its creepy tune. But in this essay, we learn that the lyrics may be more revealing.

Tanya Arora

Vihaan Karira

Hi! If I could do one thing for the rest of my life, it'd be watching 22 rich men drive expensive cars in not-so-circular shapes. In other words, F1. I'm also a runner, designer, biker, and I really enjoy being in mountains. I'm also an okay writer.

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The Person You're Trying to Become Doesn't Exist

We spend our entire lives trying to make ourselves the ideal person, but research proves that this person doesn't exist. So why are we so obsessed with this illusion?

Vihaan Karira

Norah Baisley Beingessner

Hi everyone! I love to play basketball, watch Grey's Anatomy, and spend time with my brother and friends. My mom teaches english and my dad's a principal, so I'm passionate about writing what I think and in turn love reading what other people think.

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The Illusion of Prestige

Jolly Ranchers made me realize that, as a community, we try to fabricate our interests just to appeal to prestigious schools with low acceptance rates. But does a low acceptance rate always equate to prestige? Or do we live four years of our lives in delusion?

Norah Baisley Beingessner

AT Nonfiction & Rhetoric

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Coming soon

This is The Spark, a brand new site by AT Nonfiction & Rhetoric that's just getting started. Things will be up and running here shortly, but you can subscribe in the meantime if you'd like to stay up to date and receive emails when new content

AT Nonfiction & Rhetoric • News

Lucy Johnson

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Lost Paper Towels

I always knew there was…buildup underneath that sofa. I did not realize that a message in the family Whatsapp group chat would have me staring at wadded up paper towels and orange ping pong balls for such a long time.

Lucy Johnson

Evelyn Kim

My holy trinity in life is baking, sports games, and math! Also, I am always up for a side quest: trying new Italian restaurants, cliff-jumping, or hunting for the world's best chocolate chip cookie. Reach out!

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There's Waldo

In the search for what makes someone stand out, we often mistake one visible trait for the whole person. Perhaps it's time we stop searching for Waldo.

Evelyn Kim

Lorena Lee

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Looksmaxxing is Not Goodmaxxing

When scrolling through my brother’s Instagram feed, I understood looksmaxxing to be a self-improvement culture for teenage boys, but behind the low taper fades and jawline poses lies a culture far more complicated (and concerning) than it first appears.

Lorena Lee

Jenna Lee

Beyond my love for the humanities, I enjoy side-questing with friends, ranking niche food spots on Beli, and attempting to bedazzle random household objects (sorry, Mom!). Recently, I've been trying in vain to convince my family to foster a cat.

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The Real Bombshell: Love Island

Warm cookies, mid-July, and Love Island on TV: the perfect summer night recipe. Love Island is the classic romantic reality TV show, enrapturing viewers with drama and the pursuit of love. Yet, is there something more problematic occurring behind the veil of the glamorous Fiji villa?

Jenna Lee

Srinithi Chidambaram

I'm the uncool sister of a current freshman who wishes he had a less-corny older sibling. I like coffee, reading, writing, and anything else that doesn't require talking to people (I don't hate people, I'm just introverted).

Instagram

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What Should a Pop Star Do With Their Power?

Pop stars have money, influence, fame – but do they have integrity? Or at least, to what extent does their integrity reach? No matter how big a pop star's audience or fame is, our society cannot afford to be silent.

Srinithi Chidambaram

Stella Holland

Hey guys! I'm a huge extrovert who loves eating out, decorating, aritzia, and staying active. I'm loud and I love to talk. I totally be heard from across the room so be ready for me writing to reflect that.

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The Hair that Never Listened

I grew up misfit and a visual mess. Trying to hide the most obvious feature about me was not an easy task, but I had it done by all means necessary.

Stella Holland • Personal Essay

Divya Thota

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You Only Get One "9 to 5"

Beneath the upbeat melody of "9 to 5" lies a sharp critique of corporate labor. By turning her acrylic nails into catchy, typewriter-esque beats to hook listeners while exposing workplace exploitation, Dolly Parton bridged the gap between working-class women and feminist critique.

Divya Thota

James Ungureanu

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Morning

Morning comes and goes. That's what this daily routine shows.

James Ungureanu

Daniel Guirao

I love eating: steak frites, Din Tai Fung, Tori Q, Sukiya, pizza, slop bowls. I write about whatever random stuff interests me or infuriates me.

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Lanterns on Trial: What Makes a Superhero Adaptation Authentic?

Green Lantern without cosmic wars or a giant space corps? Lanterns sounds like a recipe for an inauthentic flop. Yet Hal Jordan and John Stewart remain unmistakably themselves. Perhaps faithfulness isn’t about recreating the world a hero came from, but preserving what makes them who they are.

Daniel Guirao • What's Hot

Lizzie Thomson

Although I have four different passports the most I have to show for it is writing in British-English. If you really need me, you could probably find me hanging out with my horse Nobel or instigating an argument with my dad.

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The Cost of Sisterhood

Are sororities really sisterhood for everyone? What does it actually cost to find your sisterhood?

Lizzie Thomson