With her light brown hair half tied up in a brilliant white bow, Cindy Wang (12) strides across the basketball court in a green, black and white cheer uniform, exuding confidence and positivity with her bright, wide smile. Amidst the applause from the bleachers, Cindy and her teammates launch energetically into a sequence of choreography. Whether it be cheerleading or the other various activities she engages in, Cindy always puts her best foot forward.

As a person who is unafraid to step outside of her comfort zone, Cindy has dabbled in almost everything that Harker has to offer, from playing violin in orchestra to performing in the dance show to being a captain for the school’s debate team.

“I do so many things, and I don’t think any of them are me, and I’m not any of them, but they all make up part of who I want to be and the kind of person that I want to fulfill,” Cindy said.

She described herself as having a “yolo mindset” and often decides to join activities, such as cheer, simply to gather a taste of what they are like.

Cindy’s debate partner Clarissa Wang (12) admires her driven personality and her fearlessness to try new things.

“She says, ‘I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do these things outside of high school, and that’s why I need to take them now,’ and I think that really defines her as a person,” Clarissa said.

Despite the diversity of the passions she pursues, Cindy finds that they all share overlying concepts that have shaped her in impactful ways. There are parallels in everything that she does, and these correlations are abundant especially in subjects related to science and arithmetic. For example, a theorem learned in math class can then be applied to physics, and once more in computer science.

Even between social sciences and STEM subjects, two niches that seem to be separate, Cindy sees the commonalities that are present: creativity and communication.

“People usually say that STEM is where creativity goes to die and that you just follow a set of rules … but creativity is in all of these things: math, engineering, and physics,” she said, explaining how one can not only use a method learned in class to solve a problem but also utilize something learned from a different field of study that may lead to a more convenient solution. “Everyone gets to think freely, and it’s about where they want to apply their skills and their thinking to pick what they want to do in the world.”

Cindy has been debating since middle school, and she applies her communication skills in a plethora of other extracurriculars.

Speech and debate teacher Greg Achten, who has been Cindy’s coach for three years, recognizes her as a calm and collected person who brings a positive, energetic force to the team.

“One of the great things about Cindy is she takes debate seriously, but she also has fun with it and is able to make the moments fun for herself and … everyone involved,” he said. “Even in stressful situations, she has a great sense of humor.”

For Cindy, the necessity of supporting one’s argument is crucial not only in debate but also in topics such as math and science, where convincing others that your solution is correct or your breakthrough is significant is key to success.

“In everything, there’s a need to share what you’re doing with everyone else around you, otherwise it’s kind of meaningless,” Cindy said. “If you made this huge research discovery, but you don’t put it anywhere in the world and no one can use it, I think you’ve pretty much done nothing because that hasn’t helped anyone.”  

Cindy’s close friend Katherine Tian (12) described her as a bold, talented individual with a kind heart.

“She’s a really well-balanced person in a way that is charming,” Katherine said. “She is strong, but also warm and cuddly and friendly on the inside.”

Ashley Jia (12), another friend of Cindy’s, appreciates her supportiveness and her intelligence.

“She knows her way around a lot of things, and she brings up unique topics that I wouldn’t think about with other people,” Ashley said.

Even more important than the extracurriculars are the people that Cindy is able to meet and the everlasting connection that she shares with others.

“In the middle of everything is the ability to touch people with whatever you do. You broaden your horizons by seeing what other people do differently and how you can improve,” she said. “Everyone has something to teach you, and you shouldn’t underestimate someone just because they’re new to something because you can learn something from everyone.”