Cobra Radio: Recent Episodes
Keystone School
What makes a school exceptional? At Keystone School in San Antonio, Texas, called the "Most Challenging Private High School in the U.S." by The Washington Post and the "best in the world" by the College Board, we share our experiences, expertises, challenges and lessons.
We visit with Izzy, a senior who’s president of Keystone’s National Honor Society. She explains what NHS does, how she fell in love with long-distance running and how a trip to Ecuador changed her perspective.
We meet Ricardo, a senior who’s Student Council President. He explains his role at on student council, why he loved all three of his high school English teachers and how musical theater has transformed his life.
This episode features Angie Shotzberger, the Assistant Head of Lower/Middle School. She explains her role at Keystone, her path from college soccer player to school administrator, and how she landed a role in a Gatorade commercial.
In this episode, we meet Olivia, a senior who’s president of the Upper School’s Student Council. She discusses how the StuCo officer selection process works, why she’s interested in pursuing a career in forensics, and what it's like being a faculty kid.
In this episode, we meet Sonny Abbasi, Class of 1988. He spent only two years at Keystone, but he says those years helped change his life. He discusses how working with a former San Antonio mayor led to his focus as an attorney, how a 1980s TV show helped him decide on a legal career, and talks about his connection with a famous leak of classified documents that was later made into a movie.
In this episode, we visit with Ian, a senior who’s president of Keystone’s chapter of the National Honor Society. He talks about how NHS elects its officers, research he’s doing on misinformation in social media and how playing on the school’s tennis team helps his mental health.
In this episode, senior Abby talks about balancing activities that include serving as Student Council President, varsity volleyball, and Science Fair, how Keystone’s small size is an advantage, and how she managed to help stage a fight scene over Zoom.
Learn more and donate to Courtney's fundraising effort: https://www.runwithtfk.org/Profile/PublicPage/100862/58419
We meet the outgoing co-editor of The Keynote, Aleena. She visits with incoming co-editor Niraj. Aleena talks about working LitMag, her efforts in mental health research, moving on to Rice University, and two Taylor Swift concerts that she described as “life-changing.”
Graduating seniors Quincy and Stella have been friends since Kindergarten. They reflect on how their friendship has evolved over the years and some of their favorite memories at Keystone.
This episode features three seniors -- Maya, Ana, and Hazel -- who have known each other since kindergarten. They talk about being longtime friends and share memories from Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools. After 13 years, their friendship is as strong as ever.
Learn more about Keystone's selective program and what kinds of students succeed best here in this conversation with the Director of Enrollment Management, Andrea Banks. She also discusses how Keystone is unique among schools and how she navigated the transition from Northern California to South Texas.
Coach Montgomery talks about her track career, winning a world championship, running in the 1996 Olympics, and the importance of developing a championship mindset.
One of the co-editors of the Keynote, Lorenzo, interviews Diya. She’s new to Keystone and came here from Singapore for her senior year. She talks about making the adjustment to a new school, how she tutors students in Ukraine and her future plans to create a startup.
Alex, a senior, discusses her experiences as class president, what it’s like to be a lifer at Keystone and how she intends to combine her interest in biochemistry with history when she goes to college.
In this episode, we’re visiting with two seniors, Lorenzo and Andrew. They spent the summer researching the history of Keystone. They’ll share some of what they uncovered and why they took on this project. You’ll learn about how Founders Hall was purchased in pieces, a hidden feature of Founders and how the school almost had a different name.
Nia Clements, Class of 2018, talks about how she developed a cancer treatment for a Science Fair project, why she decided against an entrepreneurship track in college and how a note in the Keystone Communiqué led to a life-changing experience. This interview took place in early August 2022, just before she left San Antonio for graduate school at Cornell.
Talia, Class of 2023 and president of the National Honor Society talks about why Keystone’s chapter of NHS works differently than many other chapters, how she combines STEM and visual arts and what she has gained by working part time jobs.
We visit with Gabi Mehta '14. She’ll talk about her work in the aerospace industry, some of her favorite moments as a lifer at Keystone, and how a summer astronomy camp at the University of Arizona changed her life.
Student Council President Sarah talks about why she changed her plans and probably won’t go into medicine, why she loves International Day, and why Ms. Marvel is the greatest show on TV.
In this episode, we visit with Charles Mobbs, Class of 1974. He’s a professor and researcher at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York and he’ll talk about his work on obesity and on aging, why he chose MIT and how a theater class at Keystone changed his life.
Shreya, a graduating senior who's co-editor of The Keynote, visits with co-editor Aleena and discusses her decision to attend MIT, memories of science fair and how a television show inspired a lifelong love of math.
Matthew, a senior, visits with Shreya, the editor of The Keynote. Matthew discusses making empanadas for International Day, the joys of learning about other languages and a life-changing trip to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Keynote editor Shreya interviews Tessa, an accomplished senior who talks about playing basketball for Keystone, some of her more creative approaches to solving robotics problems and how she became interested in issues related to gene editing.
Adriana Villafranca serves as Keystone's Director of Development & Alumni Relations. She'll talk about why we ask parents for donations, how her master's in public policy helps in fundraising, and the meaning of the phrase "con ganas."
Antoine, a senior who's president of Keystone's chapter of the National Honor Society, discusses how he made the transition to Keystone from his previous school, how he stays close with his family and how he came to love playing ragtime piano.
The next episode of Cobra Radio will feature a visit with Head of Lower School Mallory Matthews. Get to know more about our newest division head, learn her thoughts on the role of homework in elementary education and find out about how Ohio, Harvard and Bogotá all fit into her life's path.
Tony Ciaravino, who serves as director of the fine arts department, speech/drama teacher, and in several other roles, discusses his journey from shy kid to accomplished stage actor, how he decided to become a teacher and more.
Learn what makes Keystone School special on Cobra Radio -- Coming in 2022. With host Edmund Tijerina, Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications for Keystone.