We recently caught up with Nestor Cano Sostre, who attended ASB from grades 1 to 9 before moving to the United Kingdom with his family. Nestor's sister, Marina, graduated from ASB with the Class of 2012, later continuing her studies at Brown University. This year Nestor graduated from Stanford University with a major in Symbolic Systems (Systems Engineering), focusing on Human-Computer Interactions. Let's learn more about what he's been up to since ASB.

"Stanford was a great choice of university for me - it has an amazing sports program, so I was able to keep sailing competitively while still receiving rigorous academics."

Tell us more about sailing competitively.

"Everyone in my family is passionate about sailing. At Stanford University I was involved in Varsity Sailing and competed in intercollegiate regattas across the country. I also sailed for the National Spanish Sailing Team with the International Sailing Federation, competing in international events coming 1st in Europa Cup (Poland, 2014) and 20th in the World Championship (Japan, 2014)."

Tell us a little about your field of study.

"I studied cognitive science, neuroscience, sociology, and basic psychology as well as the tools of statistics, computational logic, and computer science to understand the intersection of these subjects and be able to model natural processes in artificial environments."

How were your studies at Stanford affected by the Covid pandemic?

"I only had the last semester of my senior year affected, but unfortunately, I was not able to have a graduation ceremony or say goodbye to my friends. We finished our last zoom call, and a few weeks later received our graduation certificates in the mail."

Now that you've graduated, what are you doing?

"I'm currently a Growth Product Manager for Lotus Flare, a company focusing on digitizing services that used to be physically delivered in person. My current project focuses on maternal health in the Filipino Healthcare space. However, in the new year, I will be moving to San Francisco to join Accenture as an Interaction Development Analyst."

What would be a favorite ASB memory?

"Recess when the soccer field was still only a dirt field. I also enjoyed talking to teachers as friends. ASB had such a unique family environment that I have not found anywhere else. Everyone was human and down to earth, and even as a young student, I could always speak my mind and talk to any adult respectfully, knowing they would treat my perspective with value and respect. I knew everyone's name, even their last names, from two years above and below me. A lot of parents all knew each other, and it was a community in itself beyond the academic environment."

Any advice for current ASB students approaching university applications and final years of high school?

"I would recommend students start approaching their applications to their chosen universities early. Without enough time, the experience can be overwhelming. In addition to demonstrating their academic, creative, and service experiences within their applications, I would suggest adding supplementary information on additional passions or interests. For me, my application included my experience in sailing. If students can demonstrate something that they have succeeded in passionately that has also positively influenced communities around them, that could be a great asset in their application and help them stand apart from other applicants."

Once a Lynx, Always a Lynx.
#Lynx4Life #ASBtogether

Contributed: November 2020