Navigating Your

High School Journey

By Andrew (Andy) Li

About Me

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• Holly Ave -> Camino Grove -> Dana -> AHS
• Graduated 2022 - Salutatorian
• 2018-2022 Speech & Debate Club (Captain 2020-2022)
• 2020-2022 Food Science Club Co-Founder & Treasurer
• 2020-2021 Art Club Treasurer
• SMW, USCPAM, FTE
• After School Orators, Nutrition Services, Nova42 Academy
• 9 APs - APHUG, APChem, APCalcBC, APUSH, APCSP, APStats, APCPa, APUSGov, APES
• Enjoy: Chess, Ice Skating, Video Games, Anime

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Timeline

Freshman through Senior Year

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Freshman and Sophomore Year

Freshman

• Little to no APs
• Nervous like everyone else
• Most free time out of any year

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Tips for this year:

• Connect and make friends
• Clubs:
• Go to clubs day
• Tryout for clubs - they LOVE freshmen

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Sophomore

• Few APs
• Settled in to AHS
• Coursework start to ramp up
• Still a good amount of time

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Tips for this year:

• Build good habits - good sleep schedule, not procrastinating, etc
• Hone in on your interests:
• Pick which clubs to stay/quit
• Leadership Positions?

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Junior and Senior Year

Junior

• Bulk of your coursework
• Super busy with APs, SATs/ACTs, Club Leadership, etc
• Think about college

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Tips for this year:

• Survive and maintain grades
• Do well on APs
• Take SAT/ACT
• Teacher relations
• Start your college essays over your junior-senior summer

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Senior

• S1) College Apps and Interview prep
• S2) Little more free but still work
• Interviews
• Graduation
• Wrapping up everything

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Tips for this year:

• Research, research, research
• Take care of school, but make sure you have plenty of time for college apps (Do not bite off more than you can chew)
• Enjoy your last year!!

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Personal Well Being

• Do not overload yourself
• APs
• Extracurriculars
• Acknowledge feelings of inadequacy but do not dwell on them
• Everyone has strengths and weaknesses
• “...if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
• Wellness Center
• Dr. Anderson

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3

Peer Relations

• Learn to ask for help
• Don’t be scared to ask for help
• Talk with upperclassmen before picking classes courses
• Get Instagram and Facebook

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4

Teacher Relations

• Likeability
• That's ok
• Learn to work with people you don’t like
• ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL
• Will need recs for clubs and letters
• Sophomore and Junior relations especially important
• Important clubs/summer activities require LOR

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Club Progression

• Freshman year - Get acquainted and familiar
• Sophomore/Junior- Shoot for officer positions if you like the club (Sec, Tres, PR)
• Junior/Senior - If your really passionate try shooting for Pres, VP, Captain, etc

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General Tips

DO NOT PROCRASTINATE

• Get it done ASAP
• Don’t wait until deadlines
• Avoid all nighters

Prioritize

• Figure out what is most important to you
• Take care of small tasks first
• Make a to-do list of assignment
• League of Legends can wait

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General Tips cont.

Be Healthy and Exercise

• Affects mood a lot
• Improves your focus
• Don’t neglect your health
• Personal Experience: Really hard to study through a headache

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Private Tutors

• Make sure you TRUST THEM
• Peer recommendations

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Have Fun

• Once-in-a-lifetime experience
• Enjoy it - makes it easier as well

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Thanks!

Any questions ?

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