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: University of California, Irvine.

Question 2: What will you major in?
A: Computer science.

Question 3: What were some notable setbacks you encountered during your high school career, and how did you overcome them?
A: I feel like academics wise maybe some of the classes I’ve taken were pretty different from classes I’ve taken before such as government or macroeconomics or even AP Lang [Advanced Placement English Language and Composition]. They were just very different from the classes I’d taken when I was an underclassmen. So I’d say that sometimes I would struggle through the workload or the assignments, but I’d say that just building good study habits helped me get through that.

Question 4: What was one of your most memorable experiences in high school?
A: Just being part of Science Olympiad my whole year, and then, during award ceremonies, I felt that we really bonded as a team because we would cheer for each other, and I felt like being part of the team was a unique experience.

Question 5: How do you think beginning high school through distance learning affected your high school journey?
A: I feel like distance learning positively affected me because it helped me ease more into high school because I wasn’t just thrown on campus.

Question 6: What is your biggest regret in high school?
A: I don’t think I had any regrets.

Question 7: What advice about school would you give your freshman self if you were to start high school again?
A: Just don’t stress too much about grades or academics. I feel like it’s all gonna work out in the end, so there’s no use stressing over something that’s out of your control.

Question 8: What were some of your extracurriculars and leadership roles, if any?
A: The Boeing internship I did during the summer after my junior year was really notable, and I think that experience really helped me shape kind of what I wanted to do as a career and helped me to see what the workforce is like.

Question 9: What class threatened your valedictorian status the most?
A: I would say AP Government [and Politics] because it’s a one-semester course, and I was at a B for a while.

Question 10: What are your career aspirations and/or activities you want to be involved in at college?
A: I want to be majoring in computer science, so I definitely want to get involved in some projects that are available at the university.

Question 11: What would you say was the most rewarding aspect of being valedictorian?
A: I feel like it was pretty rewarding. Just being part of a group of hard-working people and seeing like, how a lot of other people were able to get the title of valedictorian as well, I feel like it really shows that we are a really hard-working class.

Question 12: What was your favorite class in school?
A: Taking four years of Chinese. That was pretty interesting because you are kind of with the same people for all four years.

Question 13: Who was a mentor who helped you throughout your academic journey?
A: Definitely my mom; I think she was really supportive of me throughout high school and kind of helped me figure out exactly what I wanted to do.

Question 14: What is a study habit that you would recommend to someone else?
A: Don’t study when you are tired.

Question 15: What is something you look forward to the most after graduating?
A: Taking a lot of naps.