Senior Joseph Malach is called a “bro” by his friends and is known for having a “big heart.”
“I think just being there for people is something that not only I am willing to do, but is also something that I hope everyone that knows me recognizes and trusts me with,” Malach said.
Senior Kekoa Barrios feels that Malach’s friendly personality is one of his most notable characteristics.
“He’s friends with almost everybody that I know and he can talk for hours upon hours, but in a good way,” senior Barrios said. “He’s really easy to talk to and can have a conversation about almost anything: Religion, cars, breakfast.”
Nine years ago, when Malach got his first guitar, he began writing songs and learning music. He has been singing for a long time, and can even manage a few songs on the piano.
He performed at last year’s Air Guitar with fellow senior Jon Oyan, and recently played at Ventura Baptist Church for the Schools for Salone benefit concert.
“What first made me interested in music was music itself,” Malach said. “There is nothing besides spiritual enrichment that can compare to the perplexity and beauty of music, but then again, I guess you can consider music spiritual enrichment sometimes. It has been many things for me; a way to vent, a way to ponder life, a way to escape.”
Malach occasionally attends Community Presbyterian Church for his church and youth group, and is involved with “Embrace,” the Christian club on Foothill’s campus.
“My faith is something that defines me,” he said. “I’ve never really been much of a ‘religious’ man seeing as I did not grow up in a church-oriented family of faith, but my life since I found the love of a God that loves has always been focused on embodying that sort of compassion.”
“Joe adds a lot to conversations because he comes from a religious and a conservative background, but he’s able to portray that in a way that is not alienating or polarizing,” Richard Geib said, who teaches the Bioethics class that Malach is enrolled in.
At an early age, Malach began swimming and he is currently a member of Buena high school’s swim team.
“Joseph is a very easy going young man who gets along with everyone on the team,” Buena swim coach John Siman said. “He is dedicated and competitive to the sport of swimming. I can always count on him giving his very best effort in all the swimming events that he competes in.”
Once he graduates from Foothill, Malach plans on attending either Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to get his undergraduate in business. He hopes to later go to law school, and pursue a career in a business law firm.
