Cat Levine, Reporter
@catcourant
Jane’s fingers rapidly type on her laptop as she wraps up the conclusion paragraph of her English essay. Textbooks are stacked on top of one another next to endless notebooks filled with material to memorize for her test tomorrow.
Jane Reed is a senior at NCHS who will be attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall. Over the course of her high school experience, Jane has been known to be an incredibly intelligent student. However, what many do not know is the work and dedication Jane puts into both her academics, extracurriculars, and sports.
Although many believe that she is just naturally intelligent, Jane sees that her hard work has contributed to the place she is at. “I can definitely name a handful of people that are naturally more intelligent than me. The difference between me and them is that they were so smart in elementary school, they realized that they can do nothing and still be completely fine,” Jane said. “I always learned that if I work hard then I’ll do well, and so after a while as I built up that habit I began to excel more because it got to a point where no matter how smart you are, if you don’t do the work, you won’t be that good.”
Jane has learned that staying up late isn’t always the best option for finishing work. “I go to bed at 9:30 every night because I prioritize sleep over everything,” she said. “Something I’ve learned is to work as quickly as possible without doing too poorly of a job, and if it doesn’t get done by 9:30, it’s getting done tomorrow.”
In order to balance the amount of time she spends on each class, Jane ensures that she doesn’t prioritize one subject over another. “Instead of getting an A+ and a B, it’s better to settle for 2 A- if you need to,” Jane said. I just make sure to do the minimum to get me to an A range, then stop and do not do anymore.”
Jane selects her courses to take advantage of what is offered. “I always feel that I have the capability of doing it so why not do it. If I don’t take the harder classes, I feel like I am missing out on something that is provided to me for free,” Jane said. “I’m also a competitive person, I like to push myself really hard and see if I can be the best that I can be.”
Reka Cebulski, Jane’s freshman honors biology teacher, concludes that she is driven by an inner motivation to challenge herself. “There is a work ethic in her, there’s genetics behind it, but specifically her work habits, goals, and dedication leads to her success,” Ms. Cebulski said.
As a track captain and dedicated tutor, Jane manages her after school activities and academics.“The only way you can make time for education and extracurriculars is if you don’t consider your extracurricular an option,” Jane said.
Even as a second semester senior that has been accepted to a college, Jane continues to push herself in her normal classes. “I thought that once I got into school I wouldn’t want to do anything, but I realized that if I were to not do my best in a class, I would be letting my teachers down,” Jane said.
In fact, Jane sees that her teacher can inspire her to do more for them. “When I see a teacher go out of their way and make their life harder to help make mine easier, it makes me want to work that much harder,” Jane said.
Despite most assumptions, Jane has a lot of free time on her hands to engage in her hobbies, even with the amount of courses that she takes. “In more advanced classes, the teachers don’t give you that much work, they say ‘learn it however you want to learn it and I’m going to test you on it’ while people in other classes might be doing busy work,” Jane said. “Last year in AP calculus, I only had one problem a night and it was optional, I could do it if I felt like I needed to do it.”
Jennifer Lee, Jane’s AP calculus teacher, sees that Jane makes an impression based on her ability to go beyond the curriculum. “Jane stands out because she can come up with a thought-provoking question about any topic, math-related or not, and she sets extremely high expectations for herself,” Ms. Lee said.
Ms. Cebulski believes that Jane stands out because of her interest in the subject. “Sometimes students think you always have to raise your hand or be verbal in class to stand out, however I don’t necessarily associate that with a student that knows what’s going on,” Ms. Cebulski said. “With Jane, I always felt that she had a spark in her eye; when I had a conversation with her, she looked at me, knew the topic and was able to make connections outside of class.”
Jessica Zych, Jane’s AP biology teacher, feels that Jane is always attentive when having conversations about the class. “You always feel when you talk to Jane that curiosity, that interest, she wants to know more because she wants to know more, not because someone’s telling her to,” Ms. Zych said.
Ms. Zych recognizes Jane’s ability to drive others to think outside of the box. “She challenges people, not in an aggressive way, to think about things beyond what they’re used to thinking about,” Ms. Zych said.
While college visiting, Jane saw MIT as the place she would assimilate into the best. “I know that MIT is supposed to be one of those school that is extremely difficult to excel in once you get in because of the workload, but the people that go there are the kind of people that want that much work and a challenge,” Jane said. “It was my first choice school because the attitude of the people at the school goes with mine the most and I feel that I will fit in the best.”
Ms. Cebulski is confident that with her curiosity and dedication, Jane will achieve big things in the future. “She has such a great imagination, I know that she will come up with unique ideas that will make a positive contribution in the world,” Ms. Cebulski said.
When Jane attends MIT in the fall, she recognizes that she might in fact have to change her sleeping schedule around. “MIT will just be more extreme of what I’m doing now, I may have to stay up past 9:30 but hopefully not.”
