SNAPSHOTS

100 ant-sized lions or 100 lion-sized ants: 100 ant-sized lions

Craziest thing you’ve ever done: Snuck out and went on a trip with friends

If you’re stranded in the desert, what one thing would you bring?: Emergency aid-kit

Favorite artist: Brent Faiyaz or Jhené Aiko

Least favorite animal: Any sort of bug

ZOOMING IN

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

A: “I’ll be attending UNT because they offered me a good amount of money, and I might as well get my undergrad there. I’ll be majoring in biology because I hope to do medical research, and create something that’s affordable for the world and the United States to help people.”

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

A: “Throughout high school, I’ve been involved in tennis. I played [it for] four years in high school, which honestly helped me with my communication, education skills, collaboration and the way I perceive the world. Then, I did NHS. They’ve taken me out of my comfort zone in volunteering. I did AVID and some other clubs like Interact.”

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

A: “Having the time to actually complete my work because I was having to maintain high grades to keep my class rank and my GPA. I was also a captain of the tennis team, so I had to take care of the tennis team and my grades at the same time. I just had to manage the time to be able to complete things.”

Q: What class was the most challenging for you? Why?

A: “AP stats because you have to grasp a concept. It’s not simple math where the problems are given out to you. You have to imagine things, and there’s so many what-ifs with that. It’s so conceptual, and the problems are pretty difficult, only because you don’t know what to expect out of this one problem you’re getting. You have to create these hypotheses where you don’t know what they want you to do. You just have to include all types of information even if you’re disproving your own self.”

Q: Who has helped you the most throughout these last four years? How have they helped you?

A: “I’d say my coach has helped me the most because she’s seen me grow from this small, insecure, introverted freshman kid to somebody [who’s] a lot more extroverted, involved in so much more and has taught me more than just tennis; she’s taught me life lessons like morals.”

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

A: “Definitely when I’ve put myself out there and was involved in school spirit activities. Like football games, I was there with friends, talking to all these people around me, and I’ve made lifelong connections with them. Through tournaments, because I learned patience and struggle is the best way to learn from your mistakes.”

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

A: “Be more confident, open up and not be so introverted. To always know you’re not alone and all of this learning and growth comes with time and patience. Sometimes you just have to be confident and put yourself out there even in situations you don’t want to.”

Q: What are you most excited about regarding college?

A: “I’m excited to create more lifelong connections and relationships with other people because high school is so small. In college, I’m going to be meeting so many people, like people from out of this country and different states. I’m excited to meet everybody and [see] who I’m going to be friends with because I believe friendships and relationships you form are better than anything else.”

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

A: “In 10 years, I see myself living a life of happiness with hopefully my friends and family. Hopefully, I’ll be able to learn more about the medical research world and be able to provide health care to families who are in need of healthcare and aren’t able to afford it because I know there’s so many people out there in this world who are in desperate need, but they just can’t receive it because of money situations.” 

Q: What would you change about your high school experience?

A: “There’s not much I want to change because I know freshman and sophomore year I was very introverted; it was part of a learning journey. So every single day was the day for me to learn and to grow from my mistakes or from what I was doing wrong. But one thing I would change is if I had put myself out there earlier then I think I would have done exceptionally better.”