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Hi, I’m Brenden and I’m super excited to have this opportunity to work with you!

Through the first half of my high school career (grades 9 and 10, that is) I was convinced that I would attend an art school, with my sights set on the Rhode Island School of Design. With a strong passion for the visual arts, I believed that I would major in illustration or painting and work as a professional artist (my art portfolio can be found at http://brendenkoo.com). However, in my junior year of high school, I did a little bit more research on colleges and realized that I could kill two birds with one stone and study the arts while discovering new passions at a Research Institution. I then changed course for top-tier academic institutions, namely the Ivy League. As someone who grew up in the heart of the Silicon Valley, I was determined to get out of the Bay Area and to New Haven, Connecticut to attend Yale University. My college application was turbulent and chaotic, so every single emotion that I know you are feeling, I’ve felt too. I’ve been there! After many triumphs and tribulations, portfolio submission after supplemental essay, I ended up choosing to matriculate to Stanford University, which is by far the best decision I have ever made in my 19 years of life.

At Stanford, I am currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Product Design, which I think is the perfect field of academic study for my interest in intersecting the fields of art and technology together. As a product design major, I have had the opportunity to both learn from Computer Science and Studio Art classes, sometimes separately and sometimes together. One of the classes that I took in my freshman year was a studio art class that was focused on creating art in the realm of virtual reality. We used Unity, C#, and HTC Vive landscapes to create art in the landscapes of virtual reality. The beauty of Stanford’s Open Curriculum is that I can take classes in any field, from Mechanical Engineering to Theater and Performing Studies to Psychology.

Okay, enough of the boring part.

In high school, I was heavily involved in my high school community. I was involved with student government as a leader of the orientation team, and was involved in the National and National Art Honors Societies. I worked a lot with the administration my school not only due to student government but also because of my involvement in the PTSA as I organized an annual art competition.

I am a huge fan of Broadway musicals and the Disney Franchise. My favorite musicals are currently Dear Evan Hansen or Waitress, and my favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast, so let me connect with my fellow theatre nerds!!

There’s probably some more things that I missed and probably some things that I overshared in my bio, so please feel free to reach out so we can get to know each other better!! Connect with me on instagram @brenden_koo!!

I look forward to getting to know you during the process!

Peace and Love,

Brenden