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: Chemical engineering.
Question 3: What’s your favorite movie or TV show and why?
A: I think my favorite movie is “Babylon” because the plot line being all over the place was very entertaining, and it was funny and emotional and had a great soundtrack.
Question 4: What extracurricular activities or hobbies did you enjoy in high school, and how did they complement your academic success?
A: I was in Boy Scouts, and I became an Eagle Scout. So I’d say that helped with kind of getting out there and taking charge of getting stuff done and stuff like that. I also played piano.
Question 5: What subject did others find hard, but in your opinion, was the easiest for you?
A: Probably math; I find math easy.
Question 6: How did your surrounding friends/family support you throughout your high school years?
A: My friends made going to school enjoyable, so it was not stressful dealing with work and stuff because I was actually enjoying it.
Question 7: Who is one teacher you are thankful for/ look up to and why?
A: Mr. [Andrew] Colomac. I liked the way he taught [Advanced Placement Chemistry] and was always open to explaining the complex ideas of the subject, and he seemed like he really, fully understood it and I ended up going for chemical engineering. I had him last year, junior year.
Question 8: What is one study habit you recommend to underclassmen?
A: Learn shortcuts on how to memorize things and remember stuff. Try to put everything together to understand it through a shortcut, not just learning it exactly from problems and stuff like that.
Question 9: What is one piece of advice you would give your freshman self?
A: Probably to stop over-studying earlier. I think that in my junior and senior years, I realized that I didn’t really need to put in as much work. So, I started doing a lot of other stuff at the same time, and I think, like freshman and sophomore year, I didn’t realize that.
Question 10: If you had to go back to any moment of your life, when would it be?
A: This is probably my favorite right now.
Question 11: What career do you eventually want to have in the future?
A: Chemical engineer. Maybe going into research, maybe just working.
