As her time at Malden High School is finally coming to a close, senior Ziqi Zeng will leave behind years full of memories. These irreplaceable memories will be ones that she will cherish for the rest of her life as MHS truly shaped her into the person she is now. With her memories comes the added knowledge and achievement of having earned a seat within the top ten of MHS’s class of 2016.
Currently, MHS is one of the most diverse high schools in the whole entire nation, a notion that has not gotten past Zeng. One of the biggest things she will miss about MHS is “definitely the sense of diversity” as she “does not know of many places that can top how many different kinds of people [MHS] [has].” She believes this type of exposure that she was able to receive at MHS was important lesson for her as she it allowed her to become a lot more open-minded.
Zeng will also miss the friendships and bonds that she has forged throughout her time as a MHS student. As she graduates, Zeng reminisces about these ties and says how she “loves [her] friends because [they] are really funny and they have brought her a lot of joy.” She can’t imagine not being able to see them everyday like she has been at MHS, so “definitely [she] will miss [her] [friends] the most.” MHS taught her to “have fun and accept one another for who [they] are,” a lesson that let her be able to make the many friends she has made.
As a student who has made her way into the top ten of her class, Zeng has done extremely well in her studies, something she attributes all of her teachers. Zeng has always loved art and has taken advantage of the artistic opportunities that MHS has offered in order to better her skills. Zeng even joined the Blue & Gold, MHS’s newspaper, as a staff artist and Play Production, focusing mainly on set design. While Zeng is known for her love for art, she feels “every single one of her teachers has had an impact in [her] life.” So even though she is a self-proclaimed “art/design person, [she] [has] come to notice that even [her] math teachers, [her] English teachers, etc. influence [her] to become the type of person that [she] [is] now,” because of how helpful they have been.
She credits her parents for teaching her how “to be really ambitious because [one] can always aim to be better.” The knowledge that no matter what she chooses in life “they are proud of [her].” Their support is wholehearted as Zeng never feels any pressure from them as they have always let her follow her own path. With her parents in mind, she can not help but “push [herself] harder in order to make them proud and justify the sacrifices they have made for [her].”
While it may be end for Zeng here at MHS, she will soon start a whole new adventure at the College of the Holy Cross, a private, undergraduate Roman Catholic, Jesuit liberal arts college situated in Worcester, Massachusetts. Currently, she is undecided about her major, but is leaning towards art a likely choice. The future holds much for Zeng; so although she may not be a Golden Tornado any more, MHS wishes her all the best at her new home as a Crusader.
