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: UCLA.

Question 2: What will you major in?
A: Business economics.

Question 3: What’s your favorite movie or TV show and why?
A: My favorite TV show has to be “Breaking Bad.” It’s really long, so there’s lots to be engaged in. Also, the character development, how the characters interact and the surprises are really interesting. It’s also about chemistry and it [addresses topics] really prevalent in the world, like drugs, and it’s good to get insights on that.

Question 4: Are there any quotes you live by that guided you through your academic journey?
A: I don’t know about any quotes specifically, but I like to think that, you know, it’s never over until it’s over. Even if you get, you know, one bad grade or even if you struggle for a certain period of time, there’s always a chance to bring it up and to succeed in the end.

Question 5: What extracurricular activities or hobbies did you enjoy in high school, and how did they complement your academic success?
A: I’m interested in baseball, of course. That’s my main thing. I’ve been part of the baseball program for years. I was also part of Key Club on this campus, as well as Future Business Leaders [of America], Making an Impact and some other volunteer clubs outside of school like the Service League of Boys. I think it just taught me how to manage things outside of school and I think once you’re able to manage a lot of different things at one time, it’s easier to succeed in the things that are important to you. I still prioritize school, of course, but by being able to diversify and focus on other things that kind of took my mind off the stresses of school sometimes, when I got back to that schoolwork, it really helped me focus.

Question 6: What subject did others find hard, but in your opinion was the easiest for you?
A: I know a lot of people find calculus and pre-calculus pretty difficult, but I thought it was pretty interesting. It was a little challenging sometimes, but I think overall it was not that difficult.

Question 7: What extracurricular activity did you struggle to balance with your grades?
A: Definitely baseball was one of those. Like last year, our baseball season ended around April or May, so that’s the time of finals and the period where we have to study for AP [Advanced Placement] tests, so sometimes it was hard to balance practices and games with studying for that.

Question 8: What did you sacrifice to maintain your grades?
A: I definitely sacrificed some sleep and going out with friends. You know, when everyone’s going out to eat or doing something fun, sometimes I had to scale it back and say, “Oh, I can’t go out today.”

Question 9: How did your surrounding friends/family support you throughout your high school years?
A: My family, ever since I was young, has always instilled hard work, doing things the right way and getting good grades and being well-rounded. I think just having that being instilled in me from a young age, throughout my high school years it was easier to focus on that since it was so engraved in me ever since I was young. And my friends have helped me because they themselves are smart, hardworking and competitive, and that just pushed me to, you know, work hard as well.

Question 10: Who is one teacher you are thankful for/ look up to?
A: I really looked up to two teachers, Mr. [Andrew] Colomac and Mrs. [Kari] Morita. So Mr. Colomac, I had him for both Chemistry Honors and AP Chemistry. Chemistry was something I always hated, just the class itself, but he really made it enjoyable to some extent, and he just made it really engaging and that made me want to come to his class every day to learn. And Mrs. Morita, similar to that, she’s just really engaging and she always helps you out when you need help. She’s someone that you can come to when you have troubles.

Question 11: What is one study habit you recommend to underclassmen?
A: I think it’s definitely important to be diligent in class as opposed to studying and making up your work after school or in other classes because just by having study habits and being attentive in class, you can learn so much more than trying to cram it by yourself.

Question 12: What is one advice you would tell your freshman self?
A: I think it kind of goes back to the quote I was saying but don’t be hindered by one mistake because by being, you know, distraught about one thing over time, it will add up and you will be more and more stressed. I think it’s important to take things one step at a time. In your classes and life in general, I think it’s important to take things one step at a time and just focus on the task ahead.

Question 13: How did you discover what you wanted to major in college?
A: I’ve always been into numbers and money. I think that’s something that drives the world and the economy and it’s really important, so I feel like I want to be a part of that.

Question 14: If you had to go back to any moment of your life when would it be?
A: If I were to go back, I would probably go to eighth grade, right before the pandemic, and really cherish those moments that I had with the people I grew up with. I went to the same school from Kindergarten through eighth grade, and it kind of went by in a blur and I wasn’t able to cherish those last moments that I had.

Question 15: What career do you eventually want to have in the future?
A: I don’t exactly know what I’m gonna do in economics yet, but I want to work with money.