The afternoon sunlight filters through tree branches, casting long shadows on the trails of the nature reserve. She slips on her running shoes, worn from use, and starts jogging, her black hair swishing behind her in a ponytail. By her side is a friend who keeps up with her pace. Step, step, step. They don’t speak; their silence is enough to communicate their mutual enjoyment of the beauty of nature. They jog on trails on the grassy hills, painted yellow by the sun, and feel the breeze brush lightly against their faces.

This is how Annabelle Ju (12) spends her afternoons in the fall — jogging through nature, surrounding herself with greenery. On weekends, you can often find her at Rancho San Antonio Preserve, one of her favorite nature spots, just a 15-minute drive from the upper school.

If you passed her while on a hiking trail, you might not guess that she is a thrill-seeker, someone who is always looking for the next adventure, the next uncertainty that will bring her a rush of adrenaline. 

“I like anything that’s exciting to me, anything that is an adventure that I don’t know what I’m getting myself into,” Annabelle said. “It’s kind of a thrill for me and I like that feeling. I love drop towers. It’s terrifying being at the top. There’s something that I find really fun about losing control for a few seconds.”

Close friends of Annabelle know that she has a wilder side: unafraid to try the scary things, whether it be riding the most terrifying roller coaster, going bungee-jumping or watching horror movies. 

When she’s not outside spending time in nature or chasing thrills, you can find her immersed in a fantasy book. Drawn by the fantastical scenes, she uses reading as a form of escape from a sometimes mundane reality. 

Heroines in the fantasy stories she reads are level-headed and driven: two adjectives that can be used to describe herself. Inspired by the strong protagonists in the stories, Annabelle overcame her soft-spokenness in high school and grew more assertive through taking on leadership roles. Together with friend Rashmi Iyer (12), she started her own nonprofit volunteer organization, Girls Empowered in Math and Science (GEMS).

Annabelle founded GEMS out of a desire to provide kids with the opportunity to do fun, hands-on science experiments. Having gone to a public school until fourth grade, she wanted to help those lacking the resources available at schools like Harker. Through communicating with local libraries and putting up posters around local neighborhoods, she spreads the word of what her club provides: free classes where elementary school kids can participate in fun, hands-on science experiments like building a volcano or extracting strawberry DNA. 

Even though she’s known as a “STEM kid,” Annabelle is very much in touch with her creative side. From curating ambient music playlists for studying to making song covers for her favorite songs, she uses music to express herself in ways that she is unable to through STEM. 

Her most iconic method of self-expression? A pair of three-inch black combat boots with white laces.

“[The boots are] such an iconic Annabelle article of clothing,” her friend Ellen Guo (12) said. “Whenever she wears [them], all of our friends get super hyped, and she always looks so good.”

Throughout her high school years, Annabelle has grown to be more confident in expressing herself. Her confidence and self-assurance have inspired others around her to do the same, just like how the heroines in fantasy stories had inspired her to achieve new limits. 

“She’s taught me to express what I’m passionate about more and not apologize,” friend Jin Tuan (12) said. “She’s instilled some of her fieriness into me. She is very witty, but it’s her own wit, it’s not her trying to emulate anyone else. She took the best of the person she wanted to become in middle school and she became that person, and that’s admirable.”

Annabelle’s rational, logical personality has made her a good friend to talk to, whether it be to rant or to receive sound advice. As a grounded person, Annabelle rarely lets her emotions triumph over logic. When facing a problem, she approaches it calmly and rationally. Jin recalls that, when her pet bird flew away, Annabelle comforted her while simultaneously making a plan to bring the bird back.

“She cares very deeply about her friends,” Rashmi said. “She’s the type of friend who’s there for you no matter what. She’s always ready to hype you up and tell you that you’re going to be okay.”

With Annabelle’s rational mindset towards the world, her favorite class comes as no surprise: Game Theory. In the class, she is able to analyze real-world problems through viewing them as strategic situations and determining outcomes based on evaluating the motives of different groups of people. 

Annabelle’s love for ones she cares about runs deep — so much so that she has a comforting presence even without having to speak.

“I feel like I can be comfortable just sitting with her in silence doing exactly nothing,” Jin said. “We can understand each other’s feelings without having to talk, regardless of whether we know the specifics of anything going on.”