Christi: Happy New Year everyone! Today, I will meet the co-founder of Fotia, Amaya Leiby. Let me first read her personal file: Amaya Leiby attended TPS all four years of high school and graduated in 2022. After high school, she spent her freshman year of college at Arizona State University. She then transferred to University of the Pacific for her sophomore year to double major in political science, with a concentration in criminal justice, and philosophy. She also is minoring in pre-law and plays Division I water polo. Her hobbies include writing and doing social media. She now works for the DEI office on campus and is a staff writer for the student-led newspaper on campus. She also loves traveling and drinking coffee. As the co-founder of Fotia chapel in TPS, she served as the first Writing Director and Outreach Director during her senior year. She also wrote for clay magazine for the Bible spotlight column.
Christi: Hi Amaya! Nice to meet you!
Amaya: Hi Christi!
Christi: I was just reading your personal file. Why did you decide to transfer?
Amaya: I play water polo, so I decided to transfer to University of the Pacific because the athletic department at Arizona State University was not a great fit for me. I knew that if I wanted to keep playing water polo, I had to go somewhere else.
Christi: What motivated you to choose to study political science and philosophy?
Amaya: I want to go to law school in the future, so political science is probably the most common major to study in college to prepare for law school. Also, I enjoyed learning about politics because there is a lot of reading and dissecting articles. Philosophy is also very helpful in law school for it teaches me how to deal with arguments. I especially enjoy the logic side of philosophy.
Christi: What makes you have the interest in the field of law?
Amaya: I never really had a distinct moment that I thought I wanted to go to law school, but I always have loved reading and writing. In middle school, I did a mock trial, and I was the prosecuting attorney. That was a really cool experience. Last summer, I had an internship at a public defense law firm, and I really enjoyed it. The more exposure that I have had to law, the more it cements my desire and decision to go into law.
Christi: You mentioned your internship; how did work in a formal company feel? Did you enjoy that?
Amaya: I really enjoyed my internship. The people that I got to work with were amazing, and I learned a lot. The executive director at the office was a mentor to me, so it was really cool to get to work alongside them.
Christi: As a water polo athlete in a university team, you must spend a lot of time training, right?
Amaya: Yes, in season, we train 20 hours a week.
Christi: Wow! How do you manage your time with a double major, water polo training, and other outside activities? Is it hard?
Amaya: Yeah, it definitely is hard. I love Google Calendar. Every Sunday night, I sit down and write down my class schedule, my assignments, my practices, and anything else. I would say my biggest advice is that if you do something, don’t trust yourself that you’re going to remember it. Just write it down really quickly because it helps. Also, getting up early rather than staying up late is very helpful too.
Christi: Thank you for your advice! As the co-Founder of Fotia, why did you guys decide to build Fotia Chapel? And how did you guys build it?
Amaya: That was really a great part of my TPS experience. In my sophomore year, Dr Juneman who taught Bible Survey emailed me and said that they have a ministry at TPS called Changing Lives Ministry, which is very similar to Fotia. He asked me whether I wanted to write for them, so I wrote for them in my sophomore year. But in my junior year, Changing Life Ministry lost all of its funding because the director graduated, and they were going to shut it down. A guy named Yeshuwa and I, as the youngest staff, wanted to start something new and do a complete rebranding of Changing Life Ministry. We met with Dr. Juneman to talk and plan it, and throughout my junior year, Yeshuwa and I did all of the behind-the-scenes work. We posted staff applications, built the website, and rewrote the mission statement. Then in my senior year, which is 2021-2022, Fotia chapel began. I was the writing director, so I was in charge of devotional writing, outreach, and social media while Yeshuwa arranged all of the chapel services and speakers. So, we created something new, but it was inspired by Changing Life Ministry.
Christi: That’s a lot of work! Fotia chapel is really a blessing to students in TPS. Do you have any other memorable moments in TPS?
Amaya: I would definitely say doing science experiments in my home kitchen. I am not a science person, and I remember in my senior year, I did physics homework at 5am. I also remember my favorite teacher Mrs. Yagel. She wrote me a recommendation letter for my college application. We met through Zoom and talked for almost an hour. I thought it was really fun to get to talk one-on-one with a teacher whom I had learned with for so long.
Christi: Haha, I did chemistry homework at 5am several times too. It is indeed an unforgettable memory. Which course in TPS is your favorite?
Amaya: My favorite was AP World History with Mr. Mailand. It was a fun class because Mr. Mailand loves the course and the materials so much that he would just spend an hour telling a story about it.
Christi: What advice would you give to younger students?
Amaya: Even though it is an online school, building a relationship with your teachers is very important. Do not hesitate to email them, to ask questions, or schedule a meeting. If you reach out to them, they’re not going to say no to you. Second, try to find ways to get connected with other students. You could email them and say, “Let’s study together.” Third, especially if you’re planning to go to college, use high school to figure out what time works best for you as a student. I am a morning person, and I felt it was amazing to take all my classes in the morning.
Christi: Last question, since it is January, what is your New Year’s wish?
Amaya: I wish that my water polo team will win the championship in the new season.
Christi: Good luck to you! And thank you for being my interviewee. It was very fun to hear the story about you and the history of Fotia.
woohoo! Go Amaya ☺️. I remember my very first time going to Fotia and Amaya was speaking 😊