Senior Stacia Han kicked off her La Salle experience in the midst of COVID-19, a rough start to her high school career. “I wasn’t able to go out a lot, and I think that also built up a lot of stress and stuff for me,” Han said.
Despite her online beginning, Han was able to move forward and enjoy her time at La Salle, making friends and participating in a multitude of different groups and activities.
This year, Han is taking a wide assortment of classes, including World Religions and Psychology.
She describes AP Art as her favorite class this year, even though she didn’t know many people going into it.
Regardless, this hasn’t posed a problem to Han. “My table mates are super nice,” Han said. “So I love talking with them.”
Han is a member of the tennis team, and describes her current experience as vastly different from when she started out freshman year. “It’s definitely more crowded on the courts, obviously, because there’s 50 people now,” Han said.
Han’s coaches, German teacher, Mr. David Lane and Religion Studies teacher, Mr. Edward Kendrick, are both a large part of her life. She describes them as people who have helped her get through her time at La Salle.
Han originally joined the tennis team because of her sister, who also went to La Salle. Han describes her sister as being one of her biggest role models. “I think her going here, being able to do what she does, really helps me become more confident in being social and just joining things,” Han said.
She also names her parents as big role models to her. As first-generation immigrants from Vietnam, Han’s parents inspire her to work harder through their journey and the work they’ve put into raising Han and her sister.
Han thinks she has changed a lot from her freshman year. She is more social and participates in many clubs on campus, such as AAPI and Pride Alliance. She’s grown both socially and academically, saying, “I think I’ve definitely become a lot more social than back then.”
Proud of how far she’s come, if Han could tell her freshman self anything, it would be, “I’m almost graduating. I’m so close.”
Han’s favorite part of life at La Salle is its diversity. “I feel like I’m someone who just feels more comfortable when there’s a diverse group of people,” Han said.
She would describe her La Salle experience with the words growth, creativity, and friends. “I didn’t think I’d make that many friends but now, if I look at my friend group, I’m like, ‘Oh my God’,” Han said. “There’s so many people I can talk to and I’ll definitely miss them.”
Han isn’t sure yet where she wants to go to college but mentioned psychology as a potential discipline. “I just really like studying people’s behaviors, seeing how actions may affect them.”
After La Salle, Han hopes to go to college somewhere in Oregon or Washington, or possibly Michigan, where her sister goes to college.