The Class of 2024 produced 39 valedictorians, and The Accolade interviewed each to reflect on their high school journeys and thoughts. This is a full version of the Q&A, of which the preview is included in our May magazine issue. Any remaining full-version Q&A will be posted in alphabetical order throughout the week in the Feature section.

Question 1: Which university have you committed to?
Answer: Northwestern University.

Question 2: What will you major in?
A: I’ll be double majoring in journalism and international studies.

Question 3: What is something you look forward to the most after graduating?
A: I’m looking forward to finally being able to travel. I’ll be going on a trip to Europe with my family over the summer, but I’m excited to take advantage of all the study abroad opportunities in college as well — hopefully in Spain or Turkey. I believe that college is where I can genuinely start to study and understand the world at large and globally, so being in that kind of environment is also something I’ve been anticipating for a long time.

Question 4: What career do you eventually want to have in the future?
A: Either a foreign correspondent or a lawyer. Regardless of what path I take though, I want to be in a position that helps me contribute to post-conflict development in disputed territories abroad through journalism or law.

Question 5: How did you discover what you wanted to major in college?
A: I think journalism was an obvious choice for me because I’ve been so heavily involved in it throughout high school. In junior year, I had the opportunity to speak with Ukrainian students and write about their experiences in a war-torn country, and that inspired my passion for international justice. Since then, my eyes have really opened to global challenges, and I want to be able to better understand the deeper political and economic factors that underpin them in college.

Question 6: What’s your favorite movie or TV show and why?
A: I’m an earnest Netflix watcher, so it’s really difficult to choose, but my most recent obsession has been “Drive to Survive” on Netflix. I’m a zealous Formula 1 [F1] fan, so getting to know all the F1 drivers and the politics behind the sport is really exciting. If I were to recommend one more show, it’s “Captains of the World.” It’s another sports documentary about the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and since I’m a huge soccer follower, I loved how this series was able to capture the emotions, nationalities and all the controversies regarding the matches.

Question 7: What extracurricular activities or hobbies did you enjoy in high school, and how did they complement your academic success?
A: The Accolade because it gave me a purpose outside simply academics. It has been a combination of great enjoyment and pure stress, to be completely honest. But I’ve come out of it as a much better person and writer. I was also able to meet so many genuine people, part of the staff and through the people I interviewed. Essentially, The Accolade allowed me to be part of the community, and being able to represent the stories within it has been very meaningful to me.

Question 8: Who is one teacher you are thankful for/look up to?
A: I’m so grateful to my journalism adviser, Mr. [Tommy] Li. He’s been such an integral part of my high school experience, teaching me by example the values of journalism, specifically student press. He taught me how to be inquisitive, skeptical and imaginative, if that makes sense. Thank you, Mr. Li, for planting the seed of my passion for journalism.

Question 9: What is one piece of advice you would tell your freshman self?
A: Diversify your interests. Be open to diverging paths.

Question 10: What is one study habit you recommend to underclassmen?
A: Something that I stand by is that time does not betray you. If there was a subject I was struggling with, I wasn’t afraid to invest painstaking hours in studying and re-studying the material. I think as an underclassman, it was really hard for me to grasp how to work smarter, not harder. Of course, don’t sacrifice your other extracurriculars or well-being, but working harder is not necessarily always the worst studying habit.

Question 11: How did your surrounding friends/family support you throughout your high school years?
A: Thank you to my family, who was always there to see me through my best and worst. My mom especially held me up in my failures and rejoiced in my successes more than anybody else. And to my friends, who gave me the biggest laughs and inspired kindness, thank you so much.

Question 12: If you had to go back to any moment of your life, when would it be?
A: One of my favorite memories is watching South Korea in the 2022 World Cup. My friends and I would always stream the match, but I wish I had also seen the France vs. Argentina final live too.

Question 13: What subject did others find hard, but in your opinion, was the easiest for you?
A: This was a surprise to me as well since I’m a very humanities-leaning girl, but I thought the AP Calculus BC class I took in junior year was a very compelling class for me. Definitely challenging, but I was never in a precarious position grade-wise in that class — thankfully.

Question 14: Are there any quotes you live by that guided you through your academic journey?
A: To be honest, I just searched this first one up, but I think it captures my high school academic journey pretty well: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Second, “Just leave me alone, I know what to do,” from the iconic F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen.