“I’m a senior at IMPACT Early College High School. I’ll be graduating in June with my high school diploma and my associate’s degree from Lee College. I’m interested in studying chemical engineering. For the past couple of years, I’ve been taking a lot of upper division math classes, calculus and stuff like that.

“I’ve been ranked number one in my class since freshman year, so I’ve been trying to keep up with the status of valedictorian and all of that. It’s been kind of intense. My sister did it when she was at Lee High School, so I thought I might aspire to do that as well.

“My parents have always instilled in me the values of education. I’ve always tried to do my personal best. So here I am now in my senior year, and I’m trying to keep it up. It can feel like a lot of pressure. Since a lot of my friends are also up there in the rankings, we talk about it sometimes. I feel like everybody at school knows which number you are. So there’s this stereotype like, oh, my gosh, she probably only does school work. But it’s not like that. I have many other interests. I feel like I’m more than just my grades. I’m more than just my number.”

— Divya Singh, 18

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“I’m a sophomore at IMPACT Early College High School. I just want better for myself and for my family, and I think this is a good opportunity. I hope to pursue chemical engineering. I like science and math, so I’m leaning toward that as a career.”

What do you enjoy doing outside of school?
“I don’t really do anything outside of school. I always have something to do, either high school work or college work. I don’t have time for anything else right now. It’s kind of stressful, but I’m used to it. I’m pretty focused on my education.”

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