By Ashley Trinh
Upon entering high school, Katie Ngo promised herself one thing: to push herself outside her comfort zone and never take the “high school experience” for granted.
“I just wanted to […] push myself to do new things, meet new people,” Ngo said.
Ngo explores new ways to foster her confidence and express herself with greater conviction through extracurricular activities such as running track and field and Mock Trial.
”I’d say as a freshman I was really nervous talking to anyone,” Ngo said. “Currently I’m in [Model United Nations] and Mock Trial, so I think I’ve done a lot to accomplish my ambition of pushing myself to do new things.”
Although initially introverted, Ngo fought against her shyness in order to grow into a person with an impactful voice and a self-assured character.
Entering her junior year, Ngo made the decision to quit track and field to create more flexibility in her schedule.
While being relieved of such a huge commitment, Ngo still persists in her self-promise to push herself outside of her comfort zone. She applied to Baron Banner for the 2024-2025 school year, where she strives to grow her creative writing.
“I wanted to push myself […] [to write] in a way that challenged myself,” Ngo said.
Ngo makes it a point to never sell herself short of her full potential, and she continues to live by that very rule.
“I can’t just put in 50% and expect 100%,” Ngo said. “I have to put in 100 [percent] to expect 100.” Ngo said.