Q: How does it feel to be a senior?

“It’s mixed emotions because I’m glad I’m graduating, of course, because no one likes high school, but I’m going to miss it because of all the memories, people, and teachers that I’ve met. I’ve gotten to know them so well and then [after graduation] I’m not going to see half of them again for the rest of my life.”

Q: Who was your favorite teacher?

“My favorite teacher at West is a toss-up between Mr. Cousins or Mrs. Sheehey because they taught me so much stuff that’s going to carry me throughout the rest of my life. They just taught me a bunch of life lessons. Mr. Cousins taught me geography stuff that I still use every single day of my life. Mrs. Sheehey taught me how to write fantastically because she taught you how to write as if you were a college student.”

Q: What was your favorite class?

“My favorite class would probably be choir/show choir because it’s something that I’ve stuck with my entire four years and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s the one thing that made high school for me because it’s the one extracurricular that you love and always do.”

Q: What was your favorite school year?

“Probably my junior year. I got all my requireds done so my senior would be pretty simple and I was able to drive my junior year so that’s a specific goal I had. I met a lot of people through my junior year, and that’s when I started to make really good friends.”

Q: What was your favorite school memory?

“There’s so many of them. Show choir—those are where the majority of them are. [It’s where] my friends are at and the people I’ve gotten really close to because I’ve grown up with them for like four years.”

Q: What was your favorite show choir memory?

“Oh, yeah, definitely last year. This was an embarrassing moment for me actually. When the guys were about to go on stage, I grabbed the wrong shirt. It was too small and it was also inside out so I had to struggle through that. My shirt didn’t get buttoned up. My pants didn’t get buckled–like I didn’t get my belt on–so I went out there with a loose belt and I had to maneuver through it and I had to throw my belt on the stage. And my shirt was half untucked, buttoned wrong, [super] tight. But that’s probably one of my favorite show choir memories.

Either that or this year we didn’t really have a director that much and we did great things this year. This is the best year that West Connection has ever done in my entire high school career, actually, because we got two section places and first place in one of the daytime competitions we have.”

Q: What are you planning to do post-high school?

“After high school, I’m going to attend Kirkwood in the fall and take on my culinary arts degree and my A.A.S, and then from there I want to study abroad in Paris and then eventually open my own restaurant.”

Q: Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?

“In five years I hope to see myself either in Paris finishing up my career and studying with traditional French chefs or working in an upscale restaurant or even owning one.”

Q: What advice do you have for people entering high school or continuing it.

“I got a couple of things:

Don’t procrastinate because if you’re going to procrastinate you will fall behind and then you will be stressed out at the end when you’re trying to catch up because that’s just how I work. I procrastinate a lot and I always end up being stressed out.

Another one that I have is trying to befriend teachers. Always be nice to your teachers because they’ll help you out and help you succeed.

Don’t think that your friendships are always going to last because it’s high school and friendships do switch up. I’ve learned this from my own personal life that not all your friends that are your best friends now will be your best friends forever.

Don’t stress over high school relationships because it is only high school and if someone breaks your heart, of course you’re going to be sad, but don’t be sad for a long time. Just take it in stride and then move on to the next person because we are only teenagers and we still have a full life ahead of us.”

Q: What will you miss most about high school?

“The thing I’ll miss most about high school is the memories I guess because I’m not going to miss the school itself or the work I’ve had to do to graduate, but I’m going to miss all the people that I’ve met and all the memories that I’ve made.”