Brandon Alpert, 18

Granite Bay

Brandon Alpert has a heart for giving back to his community, as he achieved Eagle Scout status at age 15, works with the leaders at Koinonia Family Services, assists with food drives for Wellspring Giving Tree, mentors younger lacrosse and trumpet players, volunteers at Jesuit High School events, serves as a Big Brother, and helped build homes for people recovering from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. 

His favorite part of giving back to his community is “seeing who is impacted by my effort.” When talking about his experience in New Orleans, he says: “It was a lot of hard work rebuilding housing for people to move into in the Saint Bernard Parish. It was good knowing our work would eventually help many families later on.” 

In addition to community service, Alpert does a lot of photography for Jesuit and produces school videos, plays soccer and lacrosse, and serves on Jesuit’s Executive Council. With such a crazy schedule, Alpert makes sure he uses his time efficiently by studying with teammates before practice. One of his favorite pieces of advice is, “Be true to yourself, don’t hurry your life, and stay creative.

—Rachel Meeker 

FAVORITES

Escape: Listening to music

Guilty pleasure: Food

Meal in town: Chipotle

Local landmark: Folsom Lake, Tower Bridge 

Movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Musician/band: Too many good ones to name just one

Saying: “Happiness isn’t about getting what you want all the time, it’s about loving what you have.”—Asher Roth

This month, in Style’s annual compilation of high-achieving high school seniors, we give you each school’s selections for local teens setting the pace—whether in academics, athletics, philanthropy, or all of the above. Read on and get inspired by the words and achievements of these 2015 super grads.