After getting the chance to speak with Mepham’s distinguished valedictorian of the class of 2024, Christiana Foufas, valuable insights were gained into her journey thus far. Foufas expressed that “it is truly an honor to be recognized for this achievement. It could not have happened without the support of my family, friends, teachers, coaches, and all who have supported me throughout the years. Most importantly, I thank God for giving me this amazing opportunity.” She urges other ambitious students to “embrace the journey and have faith in what you can do.”
Despite this being a huge accomplishment in her life, high school was not easy. According to her, “The most challenging part of high school was balancing school work, extracurriculars, sports, and friendships.” She emphasized the importance of remembering one’s roots, which in her case was her Greek heritage, by stating the quote, “Pan metron ariston,” frequently repeated by her grandparents. It means, “Everything in moderation.” She went on to state, “I applied this quote to my everyday life while giving everything that I could to everything that I did. I learned how to balance everything that I wanted to accomplish through implementing this quote, and stayed motivated by remembering the sacrifices that my family has made before me.”
When asked about her favorite class here at Mepham, she could not pick just one answer. She exclaimed that it was a hard question for her to answer. But, if she had to choose the classes she found most helpful at Mepham and her favorites were AP Biology and AP Seminar. Foufa says, “AP Biology was incredibly helpful because there I realized fully that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. AP Seminar was also helpful because there I really learned time management skills and forged many friendships and connections with my peers.” Additionally she emphasis that both classes were extremely helpful because they pushed her to try to do everything to the best of her abilities.
In the very near future, Foufas hopes to grow EnableAthletics (Instagram: @enable_athletics), a non-profit organization inspired by her research through the Advanced Science Research Program. She would like to major in biochemistry and pursue a career in medicine, possibly surgery, while never forgetting all her family, friends and teachers that have helped her along the way! Congratulations, Christiana, and good luck in all of your future endeavors!
