Vanessa Liu, our beloved Margazine co-editor, the Yearbook Editor-in-Chief, and a Tartan tutor, is a senior this year at St. Margaret’s. Around campus, Vanessa tutors SMES students in math and spearheads the Yearbook Leadership Group. Despite it being a lot of work, Vanessa loves designing and managing the Yearbook because she feels that it is a way she can give back to the school community. Particularly, Vanessa recalls the fulfilling feeling she got seeing lifers posts wearing their nostalgic Lower School red sweaters again. Working on the Yearbook also plays into Vanessa’s love of graphic design, which is witnessed in her passion for creating aesthetic study guides, the social media accounts she runs, and the graphic design of the Margazine’s website!
Vanessa is incredibly humble, so not many people know this, but she was a highly-awarded competitive synchronized swimmer for over 7 years, and just stopped last February to focus on coaching. She loves working with kids, which she also does with Tartan tutors. Coaching allows Vanessa to continue her involvement with synchro with less of a time-commitment. Vanessa will probably pursue something synchro-related for ISP this May. As for hobbies, Vanessa is a foodie in the making and runs a food Instagram account featuring pictures of her friends on various breakfast dates around local restaurants. Vanessa is known to frequent Crisp for smoothies and Wall Writers for coffee and a great study spot.
Throughout her time at St. Margaret’s, one of Vanessa’s favorite classes was AP Art History. She found the class particularly interesting because she took it in conjunction with AP World History (as a sophomore), and loved seeing the links between them as she learned about the historical and artistic sides of the world at the same time. Not surprisingly, Vanessa also enjoyed AP US History. Despite her love for the humanities, like history and journalism, Vanessa also found a passion for AP Biology, and hopes to pursue medicine in the future. As someone who knows Vanessa, I can tell you that there is no one I would rather have as my doctor.
This year, Vanessa has managed to double in science, taking both AP Chemistry and AP Physics C: E/M simultaneously, alongside four other classes. So, as someone who thrives in her academic, extracurricular, and personal life, as well as managing to be a morning person (!?), what can we learn from Vanessa? First off, she would remind her freshman self not to blow things out of proportion, citing that the things that often seem really big in the moment often end up not being that big of a deal. Essentially, “one test grade is not going to determine the trajectory of the rest of your life,” says Vanessa. Second, she urges younger students to develop good habits early on (e.g., starting homework as soon as they get home, going to bed on time, and building time management skills), because those habits tend to stick with you for the rest of high school. Lastly, Vanessa also encourages students to plan out their class schedules early, and consider talking with the college counselors, older students, or advisors before picking classes. However, Vanessa urges students not to get swept up in the tide of what others want from you, noting the wave of pressures that wash in once high school starts. She emphasizes the need to balance being independent, staying true to yourself (especially when it comes to the college search), and listening to input from others.
Thank you Vanessa, for interviewing with the Margazine. Beyond that, thank you so much for being an integral part of the Margazine for all these years. We truly would not be able to do it without you. Also, we are looking forward to this year’s yearbook, and are sure that it will be amazing! In the meantime, enjoy your matcha lattes, toe-socks, and pilates classes.
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