Graduates and Alumni - BASIS Independent McLean

Our learning culture results in students who find success in a diverse range of fields – from acting to genetics, biochemistry research to journalism. Our alumni regularly point to their school and their teachers instilling in them the confidence to pursue their diverse ambitions.

We know that the best curriculum and best teachers don’t just prepare students academically for what is to come, they prepare them for the world. BASIS Independent students leave with a profile of well-rounded interests, a global mindset that enables them to engage respectfully with people of different opinions and backgrounds, and an incredible work ethic.

Our alumni are a profound reflection of BASIS Independent Schools. They carry their desire to actively participate in the world around them long after they leave the walls of our classrooms.

BASIS Independent 2019 Alumnus Sahil J.

College: Princeton University Major: Computer Science with a Certificate in Statistics and Machine Learning Sahil is majoring in Computer Science with a Certificate in Statistics and Machine Learning at Princeton University. He recently completed a software engineering internship at an AI (Artificial Intelligence) startup, and is in talks with a few tech companies for interviews and internships this upcoming summer. “BASIS Independent Silicon Valley thoroughly prepared me for technological fields. Taking Linear Algebra with Mr. Kaufman, Multivariable Calculus and Astronomy with Mr. Linhares, and Modern Physics with Dr. Huet all sparked my interest in understanding the physical world and innovating with science and technology. The opportunity to take advanced science and math classes in high school prepared me for the rigors of Princeton, one of the most intellectually challenging universities.” Sahil plans to pursue the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and other fields of science, an interest that was particularly evident during his Senior Project: “Leveraging AI to Create an EEG-based Smart Phone Medical Diagnosis Application.” Working with a lab at Texas State University, Sahil investigated mathematically modeling brain waves in the form of EEG data as a tool to recognize episodes of brain-related conditions that can be scaled to an iOS app for daily use.

BASIS Independent 2018 Alumnus Armaun S.

College: Stanford University Double Major: Mathematics & Physics Armaun currently attends Stanford University and is double majoring in mathematics and physics. He joined BASIS Independent Silicon Valley in grade 9. During his senior year, Armaun completed a Senior Project focused on developing a solution to help the aerospace community better understand, predict, and analyze dynamic stall in rotorcraft using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition and Dynamic Mode Decomposition. "BASIS Independent Silicon Valley shaped me immensely. The inspirational teachers and rigorous STEM curriculum pushed me beyond what I thought were my capabilities. The liberal arts program gave me flexibility to explore my interests in a variety of fields from Ancient Greek and Latin to astronomy. Now that I'm in college, I'm able to use the strong foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills that I developed at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley both in my classes and research.” At Stanford, Armaun is part of the Stanford University Mathematical Organization, where he is the Speaker Series Coordinator. Through the organization, he helps plan and write problems for the Stanford Math Tournament, a well-known high school mathematics competition. Another task assigned to his role as the Speaker Series Coordinator is to coordinate the invitation of professors to give talks on various mathematical topics to the Stanford community. The summer between freshman and sophomore year, Armaun did research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, at their Quantum Institute. During the research project, he contributed to the DOE's research effort on building quantum computers and systems.

BASIS Independent Alumni Connections

BASIS Independent Alumni Connections is our alumni program designed with the clear focus on linking recent graduates, staff, and families together to open doors for graduates and build community. Our alumni will never field fundraising requests that are a hallmark of traditional alumni associations. Instead our graduates will benefit from a combination of communications, events, and resources designed to leverage the power of our BASIS Independent Schools network. In return we only ask alumni to “pay it forward” and help connect the BASIS Independent students who follow behind them with meaningful opportunities in the future.