Laura Zhang and Ruiqi Liu have done it all, from community service to competitions to academics—and, to many of us, it comes as no surprise that they’re this year’s salutatorian and valedictorian, respectively.
Were you surprised when you were first told that you were the valedictorian/salutatorian?
Laura Zhang: I was pretty surprised because there are a lot of people in our grade who get really good grades and are really competitive, so I didn’t really think that I was the salutatorian.
Ruiqi Liu: It was kind of expected, kind of not. I definitely wasn’t going for it—I’d say that whatever happened happened. It’s exciting, but not what you’d expect.
Favorite class/teacher?
Laura Zhang: Overall I probably enjoyed Physics C the most with Mr. Sckalor. It’s a really interesting class and it taught me so many things that I didn’t know before and how to think in a more structural, scientific way. It’s just a really fun and informative class overall.
Ruiqi Liu: A lot of the classes here are pretty fun, as long as you can find a way to make them fun. There are a lot of teachers that I want to appreciate, like Ms. Spinelli, for all the research support and emotional support. Mr. Dickson, who’s definitely been important to me. More recently, someone like Mr. Sckalor, who generally leads a good class.
A class you wish you took, or a subject you wished you explored more?
Laura Zhang: I kind of wish I took more foreign language classes if that were an option, but I know there’s a limited pathway for that because you can mostly only do one. But I really wish that I took, maybe, Spanish, because I think it would be really useful. And it’s a bit similar to Latin, which I already take.
Ruiqi Liu: Perhaps a broader understanding of how the world functions, how society is structured. It’s like behavioral economics. It’s more than just solving problems and accumulating resume credit. There’s something behind all of it.
Favorite high school memory?
Laura Zhang: My favorite memories were probably just the small moments hanging out with my friends, going to the city, and Flushing to eat a lot of food—stuff like that.
Ruiqi Liu: This one feels like a definite no. I think of high school as more like chunks than singular defining moments. If you look at my personal statement, which is what I wrote for college, it’s describing a period, not a singular moment.
Advice for your freshman self?
Laura Zhang: I would’ve definitely put myself out there a lot more, and even now I’m still trying to do that. I really wish I took that time to get to know more people and join more activities, even if I didn’t think that they suited me at the time.
Ruiqi Liu: Look broader than the thing you’re trying to do. Consider that the world is a lot bigger than what you think it is.
Goals for the next few years?
Laura Zhang: I want to just explore what I want to do in the world, because right now I don’t really have a clear idea. In university, I want to take a really diverse array of classes in all different fields. Right now, I’m pretty set on being a STEM major, but I also want to take a lot of humanities classes, especially classes involved with language and stuff like that. I want to be involved in things like clubs, club sports, volunteering, student organizations, research, and everything in between.
Ruiqi Liu: Right now, I’m trying to lead a tutoring program, but we have much more to do and better ways to do it. Especially in a school like Northwestern that’s more community-oriented than competitive, it’s more possible to start those kinds of academic communities. My career goals are more broad. I want to get my degree, try not to fail chemical engineering. Because I’m going for a double degree in chemical engineering and flute, it’ll be hard to not completely crash out. We will see.
Something you wouldn’t expect people to know about you?
Laura Zhang: I enjoy snowboarding and skateboarding in my free time.
Ruiqi Liu: I overthink things. I like to think about things more than you really need to.
Favorite song, or a song that got you through high school?
Laura Zhang: My taste in music changed up pretty often in high school. I don’t have one song, but I’ve been listening to a ton of Conan Gray.
Ruiqi Liu: I mostly listen to classical music. The whole point of classical music is that there’s different eras and I like them all, essentially.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Laura Zhang: I would want to be able to read people’s minds, so I can know what’s going on around me. But I guess that’s kind of an invasion of privacy.
Ruiqi Liu: The ability to communicate exactly what you mean with no chance of error. It’s hard to articulate stuff, and being able to do that is really important for human progress, both on the scientific and the cultural level.
Anything else you want to add?
Laura Zhang: I don’t know if I’m qualified to give life advice, but I feel like everybody should live by “work hard, play hard.” Just have a lot of fun, but make sure that you’re proud of what you’re doing.
Ruiqi Liu: There’s a lot of trial and error in understanding a subject and life in general. The point of education, to me, is that you’re learning the basics to grow off of that. You’re not learning the basics just to learn the basics.
