Avondale High School National Merit Scholarship Finalist

As a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist, Avondale High School senior, Qijia Zhou, is one of only 16,000 students across the nation designated as the most academically gifted among their peers. She is also in an elite group of high school students who achieved a perfect score of 36 on the ACT – a distinction that only 0.2% of test takers earned.

Qijia, who has spent all of her K-12 years in the Avondale School District, is passionate about learning, embracing the challenges of Honors and Advanced Placement classes as well as college courses. When she graduates in May, 2020 she will have completed 16 higher-learning courses across the core curriculum, five years of Spanish, four years of instrumental music (concert band and symphonic band), and classes considered to be character education including Student Leadership and the school mentoring class, LINKS.

Focusing her energy and managing her time to allow for extra-curricular activities, Qijia is an accomplished oboist, playing in the school’s concert band and symphonic band, selected to play in the Oakland University Honors Band, and earning 1st Division at MSBOA District and State Solo and Ensemble Festival. She is also a 4-year Varsity Figure Skater, earning State and National medals; and a 4-year member of the Varsity Swim and Dive team, earning league finals medals twice. A member of the National Honor Society, Qijia served as Vice President and President, as well as an officer on the Class of 2020 Board. As a junior she was the captain of the Avondale Yellow Jacket Marching Band Color Guard and this school year she is especially honored to be selected as the band’s Drum Major.

Qijia is a leader among her fellow students. Exhibiting grace and resilience through the demands of her schedule, she finds time to counsel underclassmen and assist Special Education students as a LINK mentor. Her high school counselor, Kim Olszak describes Qijia as her “little ray of sunshine because those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”

Avondale High School Principal Sharon Hyde appreciates that Qijia is a strong role model for girls not only as a leader but also because of her interest and aptitude in STEM studies. “Qijia is someone that will do great things and help to dispel the idea that girls should not pursue careers in STEM fields,” she said, adding that “it isn’t just that she has excelled in courses traditionally thought to be for boys, it is also that she is not the kind of person to let anything – including a preconceived notion about gender roles - stand in her way. She is an amazing person.”

As Qijia looks to her future she is drawn to a career in Astrophysics and is also interested in environmental studies and sustainability. She will be applying to the top universities in the country including Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Yale and University of Michigan.

For high school and middle school students who may feel overwhelmed by their studies and extra- curricular activities, Qijia offers this advice, “stay organized, try to have fun so it doesn’t feel like work, and enjoy it while it lasts – the years go by quickly.”