As juniors and underclassmen scramble to fit in community service, extracurriculars and AP courses, senior Michelle Carter is celebrating her academic achievements. Carter, an exceptional volleyball player, has been accepted to UC Los Angeles, UC Santa Barbara and University of Minnesota. She is waiting on her acceptance letter from CalTech, a highly selective university where she hopes to study cellular, molecular and developmental biology. An ambitious student from the beginning, Carter “chose [her] major sophomore year of high school.”

Carter encourages students to keep their interests in mind when applying to colleges. “If you’re gifted in anything, try to get in school for it, because there’s always someone who wants you.” For a stellar science student like Carter, this meant a career in genetic counseling, wherein she would be “[h]elping families be diagnosed with and deal with family genetic disorders.”

She narrowed her top choices of schools with a system of categories. “I put academics first and foremost because I’m very interested in going into a STEM field. So obviously I want to pick a top school where I could get a job right out of college or potentially go into grad school or get my PhD.”  

While Carter’s success is the result of her own determination, she is grateful to everyone who has helped her throughout the years. She cites her Synthetic Biology teacher as the reason she is so involved in STEM-related research (in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics): “Mr. Segina is my lifesaver. Without him, I probably would not have been able to work in the lab like I do now.” Carter also appreciates the sacrifices her mother made to keep up with her plentiful extracurriculars, including “[s]taying for a billion volleyball games everywhere.”

When college acceptance letters begin to flow in, driven students like Carter are able to see years of hard work reflected in their accomplishments. Carter urges others to continue to work towards their goals, saying, “It’s really hard and it takes a lot of time but if you actually try it will be worth it.”  Students like Michelle Carter serve as an inspiration to underclassmen who are looking to feel fulfilled upon their graduation from high school. Knowing that she’s done her best to achieve all of her goals, Carter will graduate with an invaluable pride in herself and her work.