By Sayellor Taylor

   Hardwork is a prized characteristic. To say senior Kinglee Tham is a hard-worker, however, is an understatement.

   President of Math Society, NHS Secretary, Co-President of Rainbow Alliance and Pre-Med Club, as well as a frequent peer tutor, Kinglee is an exemplary student. She recently qualified as a quarter-finalist for the Elks Most Valuable Student Scholarship, a private scholarship that is applicable to any U.S. college or university. 

   Competing against other students from Arizona, Kinglee ensured she was a multidimensional candidate. She is not only an active member of various clubs, she’s also a very diligent student. “I maintained a high GPA by focusing my time on subjects I needed to keep good grades up in, or subjects where I have big deadlines soon,” Kinglee says. Time management and prioritization are key to maintaining a good GPA for college and scholarships.

   Another component that helped Kinglee stand out was taking advantage of unique educational opportunities. For example, Kinglee chose Latin and Greek as her foreign languages because “only a handful of schools in America offer Ancient Greek.” 

   Not only did she challenge herself academically, Kinglee also earned multiple medals and ribbons for taking the National Latin Exam and National Greek Exam. Additionally, Kinglee took classes outside of Tempe Prep in 10th and 11th grade and studied for AP exams. 

   The hardest part of high school for Kinglee were the social aspects. She says, “My biggest academic struggle was trying to stand out among my other students as a minority, particularly an Asian girl. People tend to lump me together with the nearest three Asian girls.” 

   Entering ninth grade as a shy student, Kinglee says people did not often expect her to be a good leader because of stereotypes about Asian women being docile. To combat these cliches, Kinglee says, “I’ve learned that if you want people not to dismiss you, you have to make a good introduction.” 

   Overcoming these stereotypes as well as balancing her TPA career in studies and extracurriculars have led Kinglee to earn her well-deserved spot among the quarter-finalists for the Elks Most Valuable Student Scholarship.