Skyla Cui, a talented cook and coder, is a senior at St. Margaret's this year. She is hoping to head to the East Coast for college and is planning on majoring in Computer Science or another STEM field. Skyla discovered her passion for STEM throughout high school, starting with a Kode With Klossy program she did over the summer before 11th grade. She furthered her interest in STEM by participating in Kode With Klossy again the summer before 12th grade, and joined the St. Margaret’s FTC robotics team soon after. Skyla is also the director of an organization called Science Nation, which works to bring free tutoring in STEM subjects to underrepresented students.
Skyla enjoys having a diverse range of interests and extracurriculars because they have allowed her to interact with people she would not normally meet. In most of her non-SMES extracurriculars, including Kode With Klossy, Science Nation, and Climate Cardinals, she has been able to meet students from all over the world, which she thinks is very exciting because it allows her to interact with a diverse range of perspectives and cultures. Even within St. Margaret’s, Skyla has chosen activities that allow her to meet new students she would not otherwise get to know. For instance, Skyla has enjoyed being able to connect with freshmen and sophomores in Tartan Tutors, and has loved meeting new students in Admissions Ambassadors. Since Skyla was new to St. Margaret’s in 9th grade, being a part of Admissions Ambassadors is particularly important because she was once in the position of the new students that she is now guiding.
Despite all of her activities, Skyla is also a very strong student. She has taken APUSH (AP US History), which she thought was quite challenging and content-heavy, and AP Chem, which was also difficult but rewarding in the end. Skyla enjoyed taking English III Honors because she loved how the books Ms. Bunch assigned them to read connected to a greater message and some of the content from APUSH. Lastly, Skyla enjoyed taking AP Human Geography with Mr. Parker because his field trips offered an alternate learning experience and outdoor classroom that was not available in other classes.
Skyla’s vibrant high school career has taught her a lot about herself and which study methods are most effective. She feels like she spent a lot of time “worrying about an essay or assignment instead of actually doing it,” so she advises that we “stop stressing about an assignment or a test, and turn that stress into being proactive… just write it!” Skyla has also realized the importance of sleep. Going to bed at 3, 4 or 5 in the morning becomes a “vicious cycle” because “being sleep deprived makes it even harder to focus, get homework done, and go to bed.” To avoid this cycle, be wary of ‘work expansion’ and only “take the amount of time necessary to study for a quiz or test,” and not allow studying to take the maximum amount of time you have available. As for high school seniors and juniors in the college applications process, she advises them to start looking at colleges and essay ideas early and go on college tours, a really enjoyable form of post-pandemic traveling.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
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