Chantilly High School Alumni

The time I spent at Chantilly High School was some of the best of my life. During the four years I explored the academic field that I would eventually pursue at OSU, I got involved with extracurriculars that expressed my broad interests, and I formed lifelong relationships. As a driven high school student I learned how to balance work and leisure time effectively. As I recently entered my first semester of college I’ve realized that Chantilly was a valuable stepping stone in my academic career.

Chantilly High School in Fairfax, Virginia offered a wide variety of AP courses as well as unique elective classes. Throughout high school I took a total of nine AP classes that better prepared me for the rigor of college.I graduated as an AP scholar, because of my dedication to high achievement in AP courses. As a senior I was able to take an elective course in Genetics and Biotechnology that allowed me to recognize that I have a passion for genetics. The course load in my later years of high school was heavily science related, but all of my classes were interesting and I was motivated to work diligently because I was interested in the subject. In addition to classes there were also several nationally recognized honor societies that I was a part of. In total I was in five honor societies, National, Latin, English, Tri-Music, and Science. These allowed me to engage with my peers outside of class in an academic setting, as well as providing additional motivation to maintain a high grade point average.

Although the honor societies required community service involvement, I became most involved with key club, which is a national service organization dedicated to facilitating high schoolers in their desire to serve the community. Circle K is the college equivalent of Key club, and I have already joined at OSU. Another extracurricular that I was very passionate about is that I played cello in the philharmonic orchestra, playing the cello was a great way to alleviate stress, while also engaging in the Chantilly community. Although I decided not to continue playing the cello in an organized setting at Ohio State I still thoroughly enjoy playing for fun occasionally. Outside of school I was part of the Cardinal Cloggers dance team and regularly swing danced with Gottaswing. Through my dance team I was also able to do community service by performing in nursing homes and at community events. It was also through dance that I became involved with Chicago Honor Flight, an organization that provided aid and financial assistance to WWII, Korean, and Vietnam war veterans who want to travel to Washington D.C. to visit the monuments and memorials. Over the summer I was a guardian to a veteran and I guided them around D.C. for the day. Growing up outside of the Nation’s capital I took it for granted, but it was excellent to be able to assist our veterans in visiting the monuments.

The Chantilly community extended far beyond the school walls, and I was able to make some of my best friends in high school. My peers and I would meet for study sessions and projects. Collaborative work was highly encouraged and I learned the value of group discussion. Living in a dorm this year is very conducive to group study, for example we have scholar study sessions in the lobby of our dorm. The people who are in classes with me have become some of my closest friends and we spend a lot of time doing school work and social events. The Chantilly community is very similar to the buckeye community, and I am incredibly glad to be a part of both!

I loved being a Charger, but I am even more excited to be a Buckeye!