Senior Spotlight: Kai Englert

Kai Englert is an embodiment of resilience. Whether he is running for the cross country and track teams, or pursuing his various academic and musical interests, he is intent on achieving his goals. With this being said, he doesn’t think that reaching your goals immediately is an absolute necessity since failure is important in “allowing you to take what you’ve learned and to keep moving forward.” Among Kai’s many strengths is his active participation in the school community. He is currently the treasurer on the Executive Student Council and works alongside fellow classmates to handle the grade’s finances and how it should properly spend its money. 

One activity that Kai is particularly dedicated to is the cross-country and track program at Metuchen High School. For numerous years, Kai has been actively involved in these school sports and has worked hard to become a successful athlete. By being part of these two teams and trying his best, he claims that there is “a lot that goes into it mentally and physically.” Despite the difficulties of actively participating in such tiring activities, he has learned to “appreciate each day and take every day like one step at a time.” The constant work that he has put in ultimately has paid off, allowing him to have success at his meets over the past few years. Considering the exhausting nature of being on the track and cross country teams, Kai says that, “there are definitely moments where you are going to think I don’t feel like doing this right now.” With this being said, in his opinion, “putting yourself out there and going through [challenging moments] anyway” is always the best option. Pushing through these tough situations ultimately allows him to “become stronger overall [and] tougher mentally.” He also has learned over the years that even if he doesn’t feel like he can do his best at workouts or a meet, he is still capable of doing amazing things and contributing to the success of the rest of the team.

Kai is respected and appreciated for his resilient efforts throughout Metuchen High School. One of Kai’s friends, Ryan Stein, says that, “Kai is the best—a great student, a great athlete, and a great friend. He’s never afraid to work hard towards his goals and help the community grow. He always makes me smile, and he has truly transformed my life with his presence.”

Kai is also very passionate about music. He plays the cello in the chamber orchestra. By playing music alongside his friends, he claims to have learned a lot about the importance of teamwork and collaboration. Ever since fourth grade, Kai has been playing the cello for the school and has been playing musical instruments since he was just four years old. By participating in the chamber orchestra, he says that he has learned about the importance of “teamwork and collaboration.” He explained that, “there’s a lot of teamwork that goes into playing as a group, which you don’t get as a solo musician.” Music has always been a big part of his life, and he truly enjoys being a part of Metuchen High School’s musical community. Something that particularly stands out to him is how “music is kind of about sending a message.” He believes that in order to send this important message through the music that he plays, it is crucial to be connected with other people. He greatly enjoys playing music alongside others and plans to continue playing in the future after he graduates.

Kai has a strong interest in engineering. He wants to pursue this complicated field in college in the near future and plans to attend a college with a strong engineering program. He is currently studying physics at Metuchen High School to help prepare him to enter this challenging field. With regards to the difficulties of taking physics courses, he claims, “that it’s challenging [and] once you understand [the course, it] is pretty fun because you can apply it to all kinds of places.” He clearly is passionate about these interests of his and the potential to apply what he learns to real-world situations. Mr. Keagle, Kai’s physics teacher, says that, “Kai is as consistent as they come. He is a hard worker, a great listener, and always supports his classmates. Kai is a pleasure to have in AP Physics.” 

Kai Englert is clearly a resilient person, even when he faces challenges and tiresome tasks. He gets over them by accepting their difficulty and trying his hardest to move forward while at the same time learning from these experiences. He enjoys his connections at Metuchen High School as well as his ability to learn and play music alongside his peers. He is clearly a dedicated student with great courage and dedication, allowing him to become a strong person and a role model that other students can look up to and learn a great deal from.