Sophomore Haylee Nguyen is making the most of her second year of high school, whether it be writing music, watching Formula 1 racing, or planning school dances during her favorite class — Leadership.

Leadership is currently her favorite class because she enjoys contributing to school events such as the Winter Formal Dance, which Nguyen did promotional work for. Academically, however, her heart lies with English, which is her favorite subject. 

“I’ve always been really good at writing,” she said. “I excelled at it, and I love to read.”

Another part of English that sparks Nguyen’s interest is her teacher, Mr. Greg Larson. 

“I like how Larson brings out energy from people,” she said.

Her favorite literary genre is gothic fiction, with her favorite book at the moment being “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka.

Another one of Nguyen’s passions is music. Last semester, she took Music Technology, taught by Band Director Mr. Ryan Gabbart, and she produces her own music on SoundCloud. Currently, her favorite solo artist is Jeff Buckley with her favorite band being Radiohead. But while she loves music, her interest isn’t solely focused on the lyrics.

“I like very experimental music,” she said. “As long as it sounds good I like it. I’m not really too worried about lyrics.”

Currently playing the guitar and piano and learning the bass, Nguyen hopes she can one day be in a band.

If she could, Nguyen said she would take another, more advanced music technology course. Already well-versed in music theory, she found the class relatively easy, but she still enjoyed the songwriting and production aspects.

Though she doesn’t participate on a team in any sports now, Nguyen played volleyball for recreational teams in middle school. She also plays tennis for leisure and enjoys watching soccer. 

Nguyen shares a close bond with her family and cherishes the time they spend together. She especially enjoys taking trips with them, such as their annual trip to California where they visit relatives.

She also enjoys hiking with her family, once going on a 20-mile-long hike on the Banks-Vernonia State Trail in Oregon.

“It took all day and I was really tired,” she said. 

Her current goal is to summit Mount Hood after graduation.  

Despite their four-year age gap, Nguyen said she is particularly close with her younger sister, Olivia.

“My sister’s like my best friend,” she said. “I just remember playing in the snow with her when we were little, and I don’t know — she’s always been my little me.” 

Nguyen has always lived in Oregon, with both her and her sister growing up here. She said she enjoys Oregon summers, but winter is her favorite.

One of her favorite memories growing up is spending time with her dad. 

“My dad and I would always drive around and he would talk a lot about cars,” she said. 

This sparked an interest for Nguyen in cars from the Japanese domestic market, with her dream car currently being a 1996 Mazda RX7. 

If she could give any advice to incoming freshmen, it would be “don’t let your grades hold you back,” she said. 

Nguyen describes herself as someone who is great at winging things, and she believes her friends would say she has very niche interests. One of these is Formula 1 racing, in which she used to root for Mercedes-Benz, but now just enjoys watching the sport. 

If she could tell her past self anything, it would be to “let it pass.”