SNAPSHOTS

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world for a week, where would you travel and why?

A: “I would go to Greece because I’ve always wanted to see the beaches over there and eat all the food.”

Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

A: “If I could have any superpower it would be time traveling because I could go back and try to fix things that happened in the past.”

Q: If you were given a million dollars, how would you spend it?

A: “The first thing I would do is invest some of it into my savings and stocks. After that, I would give it to my family or charity.”

Q: What is one thing you can’t live without and why?

A: “One thing I cannot live without is probably tacos. I love tacos, and I love food. So if there isn’t a food I like somewhere I’ll probably be so sad.”

Q: What is one moment in your life you’d like to relive and why?

A: “I would like to be in middle school again because middle school was the best experience for me. I was in theater, I did horseback riding and I was in athletics. I was just having a lot of fun and that was the best version of me, so I’d like to go back and be that girl again.”

ZOOMING IN

Q: What college will you attend? What is your intended major?

A: “I’m attending The University of Texas at Austin, and I’m majoring in aerospace engineering.”

Q: What extracurriculars have you been in throughout high school?

A: “I did Student Council, NHS, Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering, which was a group I started, I’m in band and I also participated in the Technology Student Association.”

Q: What was the most challenging aspect about balancing extracurriculars and academics?

A: “The most challenging aspect is time management, like finding time to practice for band or finding time to study for exams. Time management was definitely the hardest [for me]. If I had balanced it better, I could have done even better than I’ve done right now.”

Q: What class was the hardest for you? Why?

A: “The hardest class for me was AP biology freshman year. That was the first time I’ve ever struggled in school, and it didn’t help that the AP biology teacher at Harmon was gone for most of the year. So I had to learn most of it by myself, and I really struggled with that. I have a little bit of a disability with my hand, so writing is really hard for me. I really struggled with the AP biology exam because I couldn’t write that much that fast. It was a really hard class for me because we did a lot of FRQ’s and labs. We had so much to do, and I felt like I was completely on my own because all of my friends were doing good and I was struggling.”

Q: Who has helped you the most throughout this journey? How have they? 

A: “The people that have helped me the most are Ms. Marchany from Harmon and Ms. Chiles. They have helped me get a bunch of opportunities. Ms. Marchany helped me start my club for engineering. We go to state competitions and that has opened a lot of doors for me. I’ve made a lot of connections with people, like IT alumni. Ms. Chiles helped me get into one of my programs at NASA.”

Q: What has been the most memorable part of high school?

A: “The most memorable part of high school was the friends I made along the way. Before high school, I had a small friend group, but with high school I really liked that I got to expand my bubble. It gave me a lot more freedom. There was always somebody I could be happy with, hang out with and struggle with in class. It made it a lot easier for me.” 

Q: In your personal high school experience, what has been different this year due to COVID?

A: “The biggest difference is that I don’t see a lot of my friends now because they’re virtual. It’s hard when I don’t see them anymore. It feels like I’m losing them because they’re online.”

Q: What advice would you give to your freshman self?

A: “The advice I would give to my freshman self is to use AP classroom and to relax. Don’t just study, have fun. Go to school events, sports events and more community service. Reach out, don’t just be on your own.”

Q: What are you most excited about regarding college?

A: “I’m most excited to make new friends, explore Austin and eat lots of food. I’m also excited for the freedom in college. I’m really looking forward to being independent and learning to be on my own.”

Q: Where do you hope to see yourself in 10 years?

A: “In 10 years I want to have a job at either SpaceX or NASA, and I want to be a system or design engineer.”