Profile: Otis Kohnstamm

Senior Otis Kohnstamm concentrates on homework in his room.

By Alex Haddon

For some seniors, the final year of high school can seem very intimidating. Financing college, working full time, just finishing high school in general. Not for Otis Kohnstamm. He has a plan.

Kohnstamm is applying early decision to Columbia University in New York City.

“I love the city aspect,” he says. “The core curriculum [there] is very well rounded and I believe they have the best undergraduate degree you can find.”

Not only has he decided where he would like to go and has a list of back up schools, Kohnstamm plans to pay for college with help from his parents and having worked a summer job at Bustin Barriers. A sports camp, according to its website, dedicated to “provide safe physical activities and meaningful socialization experiences for individuals experiencing disability.”

Reflecting on what he has completed at Lincoln and the final year to come, he really thinks Lincoln has prepared him for life after high school.

Although he describes getting off to a rough start at the beginning of high school, as the years went on, having a balance of classes in his schedule have definitely prepared him for college.

“Being a senior is fun, but it is a little underwhelming,” he says. “It's just like being a junior, but it's been a lot of fun so far.”

Kohnstamm also noticed that as a senior, he adopted a role of being a leader. He notes middle schoolers or underclassman may look up to seniors and that puts a responsibility on them.

Because of the new responsibility, “seniors should be leading the rest of the school by example,” he says.

Having experienced almost all of high school, Kohnstamm says his success was due to time management and really getting down to business when he needed to. For students entering into the upper classes and Lincoln in general, Kohnstamm has some advice.

“There are plenty of resources at Lincoln and truly Lincoln is what you make of it,” he says. “We have great teachers, great coaches, and great support systems and if you take advantage of all that, Lincoln will be a great experience.”