Time Capsule: Janice Nam
Four seniors share their current goals and aspirations. In May, we will revisit the same students to see if those have changed. This is the story of Janice Nam.
Student leader, tutor, and athlete Janice Nam reflects on her senior self.
Photo courtesy of Janice Nam
Megan Sefontein, Copy Editor
Meet senior Janice Nam, a dedicated and involved student, who is trying to salvage and savor her unconventional last year of high school while balancing normal student workload and the new routine of the pandemic.
Nam attended Northview for all four years of high school and does not remember much from her first day at Northview. She does, however, remember the nerves since she kept telling all of her family and friends how tired of middle school she was and how excited for high school she was. Nam regards her last first day at Northview as very anticlimactic as the white dresses the senior girls normally wear and celebrations they have the first day were now gone. Nam had to miss the senior parade due to volleyball practice so she hopes for a normal second semester where she can have a redo.
While adjusting to online school, Nam mourns her loss of the coming-of-age traditions that are a part of traditional senior years such as homecoming, prom, and graduation. Nam misses the day to day normalcy of going to classes and spending time with her friends.
"I just miss being able to hang out with my friends," Nam said. "One of my favorite things to do these past couple of years was to go to cafes after school and study there with them."
Despite all the challenges, Nam is still a highly active student, participating in Class Council during her freshman, sophomore, and junior years as Class President. She is currently Student Council President, a volleyball athlete, a member of National Spanish Honors Society, a tutor in Side by Side tutoring, a student ambassador, and a part of the Kaleidoscope Club which organizes International Night every year.
"I have been doing volleyball since middle school, but I am kind of short, and in my opinion not very athletic, but I still have fun because I love my teammates and the coach,” Nam said.
The courses and teachers Nam has known at Northview have changed her life.
Photo courtesy of Janice Nam
One of Nam’s favorite things about Northview is the staff. So many of her teachers have inspired her that she found it difficult to pick only a few to highlight. But Nam credits Christopher James, a social studies teacher and her volleyball coach, for teaching her about life. Andrea Riker, her math teacher who really got to develop a close relationship with Riker as a result of having her for back to back classes in her sophomore year. And Ashley Ulrich who was her supervisor for Class Council sophomore year and her AP lang teacher who inspired Nam through her personality, proving that Northview is a great place to be.
Though it was not always the case, literature classes have become Nam’s favorite classes. After taking AP Language and Composition, she gained a passion for literature and has continued to follow that path, taking AP Literature this year.
"I took AP Lang last year and really enjoyed it because I got to learn about the world through a new lens,” Nam said. “Now I am taking AP Lit and I like it so far because I get it to see myself in a new lens.”
The people in her life describe her as caring, good at baking, hardworking, and someone who does not make a lot of deep connections but those she does make are extremely deep investments.
Her post-high school plans include attending university and studying psychology and Spanish, though both are still subject to change. Nam also hopes to live abroad for a portion of her life to discover and immerse herself in other cultures.
"My advice to my May self is enjoy the time you have to spend at home with your family,” Nam said.
