Q: Please tell us about your current plans after high school. And what inspired you to choose this path?

A: I will be attending Oglethorpe University this upcoming fall as I plan to focus my studies on becoming a teacher in early childhood development education. I was inspired to choose this path because both my parents actually met at Oglethorpe during their four years there, and I want to continue their legacy as a young scholar trying to figure how I fit in this crazy world. Additionally, I have always had a passion to teach younger students because I enjoy spreading value and knowledge to other people.

 

Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.

A: I am the oldest sibling out of four kids. I live with my mom and dad, my younger brother, Ethan, who will be a senior at NGHS next fall, and my two younger sisters, Lauren and Morgan, who are both identical twins, and they will be starting in the 9th grade at NGHS next fall, too. I also have a Jack Russell Terrier named Roxie, and she is as crazy as they come, but I love her to death!

 

Q: Where do you go to school?

A: North Gwinnett High School

 

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community? 

A: I absolutely love Friends American Grill, Zoes Kitchen, and Chik-fil-A!

 

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?

A: I would have to say that Mr. Jeremy Martin is the most interesting person I have ever met here in Suwanee because he is always super enthusiastic about the unique language known as Latin and everything about it, too. He was my Latin teacher for two years at NGHS, and I wish I could still be in his class today! I will never forget how in class if someone asked him a question about grammar, he would somehow end up ranting about Roman history! Those were the best times with him because I admired his passion for the classics along with his love for history, too. He has inspired me to be amazing when it comes to the Junior Classical League, and I will strive to never let his name be forgotten at our school since he unfortunately does not live in the area anymore, but I hope to see him again someday!

 

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?

A: I would go to Italy because when I was in eighth grade, I went there on a school trip with my friends, and we had the best time of our lives! I really enjoyed sightseeing places where the culture was nothing like America’s, and I remember being in awe of how unbelievable the architecture of every single edifice was. The food was also to die for, and there is nothing like eating authentic Italian pizza on a warm starry night while sitting on the Spanish Steps in Rome! I went almost literally throughout the entire country in a week. I started in Milan and ended my journey in Pompeii. I have a plethora of stories for the ages and if anyone ever wants to hear any of them, I would be more than thrilled to tell them because when I tell stories about my time in Italy, it allows me to relive all the adventures I experienced over there.

 

Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?

A: Friends is unarguably the best show in the whole world. I also love the shows Manifest, The Walking Dead, This is Us, and Little Fires Everywhere! As far as movies go, Parasite and Train to Busan are two of my favorite movies right now.

 

Q: What’s the best advice you ever received from a teacher? Who was the teacher?

A: Mrs. Katie Turner from Level Creek Elementary School gave me the advice to always strive to be a better version than my best self! To this day, I am still practicing that piece of wisdom that she shared with me, and I only have her to thank for all of my accomplishments and successes (along with my parents of course!). Who knew that one piece of advice from 2012 would affect my perspective on how well I did for the next eight years? Thank you, Mrs. Turner!

 

Q: What is your go to band when you cant decide what to listen to?

A: I love listening to this one band called Cage the Elephant because they have this indie-retro sound that seems to really communicate to all my emotions when I just can’t seem to find something to listen to. Additionally, Billie Eilish is by far my favorite solo artist in the history of my favorite singers because I can seriously relate to every song she has ever written/sung. The vibe that she sends through her songs are so touching to me.

 

Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?

A: Billie Eilish, without a doubt, would be the person I would choose to meet up with because I am pretty much her biggest fan! I particularly gravitate towards her because we both suffer from Tourette’s Syndrome, in which we both involuntarily twitch and shake our shoulders and heads while also making vocal noises/utterances. I feel that we could both understand what the other is going through since having Tourette’s is one big adversity alone. She is the first celebrity (that I know of) to announce having Tourette’s Syndrome, so this a big deal for me because now I have someone to look up to as a role model. She is also my age which makes it even better because we can relate to being in the same generation and having to deal with similar issues that people in other generations never went through. I know for sure that we would have lunch at Zoes Kitchen since Billie is vegetarian and I love vegetarian based foods (even though I am not one).

 

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?

A: I love the cultural diversity that Suwanee has to offer because, in most communities, there is always a “racial majority” and/or “ethnic majority”. However, in Suwanee there is no one race and/or ethnic group that dominates the population. I just think that it is so cool and extremely rare for a community to attract such a diverse group of people to reside in it.

 

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?

A: Considering that I plan on pursuing a career as an educator in early childhood development, I hope that in five years I will have already graduated with a BA degree in early childhood education that pertains to either English or communications. I also see myself working as a full-time educator in a preschool or kindergarten classroom while also working towards earning my MAT degree to further expand my qualifications as a teacher that will increase my chances for better opportunities if I ever come across one.

 

Q: What show are you binge watching right now? 

A: Well, I just finished binge-watching Tiger King, and let me tell you, that show is crazy, and I highly recommend it! Currently, though, I am binge-watching the show This Is Us, and I think I have cried during every episode of this show! There is definitely a raw-factor that comes with the storyline of this show, and I highly recommend it!

 

Q: Favorite month? holiday? and best single day on the calendar?

A: April is my favorite month because I love the smell of fresh blooming flowers, the feeling of the warm breeze that blows against my skin, and the sound of the bumblebees as Spring has already begun to come upon us. April is also a holiday filled month for my family since my birthday falls on the 16th, my cousin’s birthday also falls on the 16th, another one of my cousin’s birthdays falls on the 1st, and then Easter (my favorite holiday) comes around, too. It is also the month when teachers begin their final exam reviews, thus, the end of the semester is upon us.

 

Q: Who inspires you to be better?

A: My dad is the biggest inspiration in my life because we are both very similar when it comes to our personalities, adversities, opinions, and characteristics. We both struggle with certain disabilities such as ADHD and a few other things that I prefer not to mention. Whenever I am feeling these certain struggles at their strongest, I always go to my dad to talk about it because he somehow always knows what to say and how to make me feel better, too. Throughout my life, he has always been there to help me study and to challenge me to be better whenever I would settle for less than my full potential. If it weren’t for my dad, I don’t think I would have ever pushed myself as far as I did. He is the reason why I am so confident as a student and a woman today, and I love him for that!

 

Q: If you could go back over your entire school career what is one thing you would do different?

A: Out of all the different things that I could choose to change over my entire school career, I would only change one thing, and that would be to go back and switch out any of my classes that were ever in the 300 hall to not be in the 300 hall because I am pretty sure that I died a little every time I walked up all one-thousand steps.

 

Q: Who or what do you miss the most right now?

A: I miss all my friends and (favorite) teachers right now because I feel like it has been years since I last talked to them all. Back when school was still in face-to-face mode, it was pretty much daily that I would cross paths with one or two of my friends and former/current teachers that I would talk to for only a few minutes. I now realize that I took those small moments for granted because I pray every night that someday I will be able to have moments like those again.

 

Q: Were you involved in any sports or extra curricular activities?

A: I was an NGJCL (Latin Club) advisory board officer and member as well as a member of the BETA Club, Student Council, NGHS’ Symphonic Wind Ensemble (flute player), Freshman Mentoring, and Peer Leadership. Also, I volunteered outside of school as a small group leader at Gwinnett Church’s elementary Sunday service called UpStreet. I started volunteering there when I was in 10th grade and unfortunately left last semester. I started out with a group of 3rd graders when I was in 10th grade, and as I moved up to the next grade level, so did they. This year, I will be graduating high school while they graduate elementary school, and I plan to go back to finish the year off with them once this whole COVID-19 crisis calms down. Furthermore, I have worked as a server at Friends Grill of Suwanee for over a year now!

 

Q: What’s the first thing you want to do when this quarantine is over?

A: The first thing I want to do when this quarantine is over is to spend time with my closest friends at a nice restaurant where we won’t have to worry about anything either than going to college and not seeing each other for a while.

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