People say to enjoy high school while it lasts, it’ll be over before you know it, or blink and you’ll miss it. Those words of advice once uttered to every freshman, have now become a reality for the seniors in the class of 2024.
As freshmen, the class of 2024 experienced the struggles of being totally virtual their freshmen year because of the pandemic. Despite the unavoidable, Senior Vanessa Kot did not let anything stop her from going through high school her own way.
Kot is not only a member of the National Honor Society, but also Spanish Honor Society, Heroes and Cool Kids, choir and is a captain for the John F. Kennedy Girls Cross Country Team. She does everything she can to help those around her in and out of school. Kot tutors her peers, and along with other members of the Spanish Honor Society, spent her Saturdays helping out at the food pantry.
“As much as I love SHS [Spanish Honor Society], it is a lot of work,” Kot states. “We get to do good things… it’s nice helping the people out there, and the tutoring… it is beneficial, which makes it worth it.”
Vanessa is not the only Kot attending JFK, she shares the halls with her younger sister Sofia.
“She has taken a lot of the same classes as me and whenever she needs, I can help her…” Kot explains. “I know she is someone in the school that I can always count on.”
Kot started her freshman year, not knowing for sure what she wanted to do, but stuck to her creativity and newfound interest in science. Kot was able to pave her path in high school, piece by piece with support from her family.
“They [her family] have always said, whatever I wanna do, we support you…that was the most crucial thing that has been a part of my life and experience in high school,” Kot explains. “If I didn’t have them, I definitely would not be where I am today.”
Even with her family’s support, Kot faced her fair share of challenges, like COVID-19 ruining her freshman year, or suffering a senior season-ending injury to her ankle during cross country, that limited her to only one race. However, Kot kept moving one step at a time.
Kot looks forward to studying pharmaceutical science at the University of Florida this fall where she has family nearby.
