Q: What are your plans after high school?

A: “Next year I’m going to The University of Texas at Austin to study Business.”

Q: What’s something you’ll never forget?

A: “I’ll never forget the time I was able to spend with the friends I’ve made over the past four years. I have friends who’ve graduated and also friends I’ve known since elementary and middle school. I also have friends that I just met recently and have already become very close with. Those are the friendships that I will cherish for a long time. Mr. Rushing was one of my favorite teachers. He’s always been like a ‘dad.’ Whenever I needed someone to talk to, he always made me feel better. I don’t even have his class this year, but I’ll still go in there to say hi and he gives really good advice. Ms. Jones is one of my favorite teachers as well. She always takes care of me and she’s like a ‘mom’ figure to me.”

Q: If money didn’t matter what would you do after high school?

A: “I would probably go to college in another country. No specific college, but somewhere where they have a good business school. I’m really passionate about doing business, and that’s what I feel I’m called to do right now. I would like to go to another country to get to know their culture and their customs and what they like to do.”

Q: Is there something you wish you would’ve done in high school that you didn’t do?

A: “I wish I would have started doing clubs earlier. There are some clubs I just joined recently that I wish I would’ve started at the beginning of high school. I recently started doing robotics and now we’re going to the world championship in a couple of weeks, and I’m super excited about that. I love the people in robotics and the sponsors of the club. They’re so much fun to hang out with, and I wish I would have joined it earlier.”

Q: What do you value in life?

A: “The relationships and the people that are around me. I try to surround myself with people that will continually try to push me to become a better person. I know that where I am right now is okay I can always strive to become a better person.”

Q: What advice would you give to your freshman self?

A: “I would say a lot. I would say don’t be afraid to step out and get out of your comfort zone cause that’s how you grow. I would say you don’t need that much make-up cause no one really cares. I would say boys aren’t worth it right now, wait until they’re rich and smart and mature and wear deodorant.”

Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?

A: “In the future I hope to become a CEO of a non-profit organization. I haven’t thought of a specific company, but, in general, I really hope to be the CEO of a company. I enjoy working with non-profits. The past couple of years I worked with sMiles 4 Sammy and we worked with families who have medical fragile children, and that’s something I really enjoyed. We helped raise money for parents to pay for their children’s medical bills. If their children pass away, we pay for the parents’ counseling. That was so much fun doing that the past couple years. If sMiles 4 Sammy [grows], I want to be CEO of it. That would be so cool.”