Sophomore Makayla Vu has a busy schedule, but she has still been able to maintain an impressive 4.1 GPA. Between her three honors classes which include Honors Algebra II/ Trigonometry, Honors English II, and Honors Biology, she still has times for many extracurricular activities. The Falconer decided to interview Makayla as this week’s student of the week because of her impressive academic success and involvement in the school.

Although Makayla only has one and a half years of high school experience under her belt, she has still learned a lot in this short time. Reflecting back on her freshman year, Makayla felt that the academics were easier than she expected. However, this was because of her teachers “who did a good job of easing in the work.” She also noted that one of her hardest classes was English. “Mrs. Elliott pushed hard and the workload was intense but it prepared me for Honors English,” she said.

This year Makayla has pushed herself academically. With finals coming up soon, her goal for the rest of her sophomore year is to work hard on essays, homework, and tests and to not just go through the motions. One of her favorite teachers this year is Mr. Swanson “because he’s very encouraging. If you talk to him, he’ll be really nice and he’ll try to explain it in different ways, and if you still don’t understand it he’ll spend time with you.”

Makayla is very involved in the La Salle community. She participates in volleyball, snowboarding, and tennis. That’s already a lot to take on, but she also finds time to be in three other clubs, which are outdoor, spirit and dog appreciation club. When asked about the benefits of participating in extracurricular activities, Makayla said, “It’s important to go out of your comfort zone and experience new things. There’s a lot of people who are shy and quiet but I think there is something for them.” She also says that all these activities personally help her to relieve the stress that comes with school.

Makayla said that one way she is able to balance school and extracurricular activities is “To do a lot of homework at school, and homework before practice so I don’t have to worry about anything.”

For her next two years at La Salle, Makayla hopes to complete courses that can challenge her and help her in the future. Makayla excels in math and science and because of that, she wants to work in the medical or engineering field when she grows up. A lot of her family members are engineers, but she’s leaning more towards the medical field. She hopes to attend the University of Washington because it is a great college for the medical field and because of its close proximity to home.