Haddonfield Memorial High School graduate Julia Chin has lived on the east coast for her first 18 years. In less than three months, the salutatorian for Haddonfield Memorial High School’s class of 2019 will head to the west coast for new challenges and new perspective.
Chin will tackle the next phase of her academic career at Stanford University, where she plans to study computer science. A violin virtuoso who received training from a Juilliard professor, she’s hoping to combine interests for future gain.
“I’ve played the violin for the past 12 years, so I plan on continuing playing and seeing if I could connect my passion for computer science with my passion for music – to see how the two could work together and create something new in the future, maybe artificial intelligence technology,” she said in a brief interview with The Sun just hours before graduation exercises were to begin.
Though proficient in a number of areas that would make a college admissions office swoon, Chin really didn’t have an inkling she might be in the running for salutatorian – an honor bestowed two days prior to graduation at the annual senior luncheon.
“It was kind of interesting. I had always prided myself on being pretty serious about school; my grades have always mattered pretty significantly. But to know I was chosen as the class salutatorian … it felt nice to know that all my work was that impactful, and that I would have the opportunity to speak at graduation. It made me feel so proud of myself,” she said.
With just over 48 hours to prepare opening remarks, Chin said she wanted to stray from grand statements, opting to keep her intended message simple.
“My speech dealt more with how my friends have impacted my high school experience, and how the class as a whole has made it a pretty good one. I hope that it will be meaningful to the class, knowing I’ll have good memories when I think back. I wanted to make my speech as good as I could possibly make it in the time that I was given. I think I found a good balance, making it not too lengthy for the audience,” she said.
Like class valedictorian Ethan Spellmeyer, Chin also managed to express the inexpressible, knowing, in the moment, she had completed her high school work but was not yet a full-fledged alumna.
“It’s been kind of strange to be in limbo like I have for the last week and a half, because I’ve been finished with classes and I didn’t really have any finals, yet I’ve still been clinging to the high school experience that I’ve had over the past four years. This pretty major part of my life, and everything I’ve been doing, have all been building up to college. It feels really surreal. It’s not quite real yet.”
Chin is looking forward to spending as much time as possible in Haddonfield over the course of the summer, hanging out with friends and soaking up the atmosphere, before heading off to the Bay Area for school. She admitted she didn’t know if the reality of graduation would truly hit until it’s time to leave.
