Q5 with Katie Heriford

Scholastic Honors: Top 1 percent; National Merit Commended Scholar; recipient of the Harvard Book Award; Bright Flight Scholar and selected to the Missouri Scholars Academy.

High school and community activities: Member of the National Honors Society, the French National Honor Society and the Modern Language Club; participated on the Girls Swim Team and was involved with the Acapella and chamber choirs.

1 To what do you attribute your academic success?
Pushing myself to take hard classes and being dedicated to getting assignments done and turned in on time.

2 Who was your biggest influence on your studies?
Both of my parents have always made sure that my education is my top priority. They’ve always stressed how important it is to work hard in school and get good grades.

3 What was your favorite activity in high school? Why?
I really loved all of the activities I was involved in at South. Choir was fun for me because I’ve always loved to sing, and I’ve met many amazing people through my involvement in various choirs and vocal activities. Girls’ swimming was awesome because our team was very close, and we always had a lot of fun together both in and out of the pool. I also enjoyed Modern Language Club because I’m planning on minoring in French and studying abroad in college.

4 What college do you plan to attend and why?
I plan on going to the University of Missouri-Columbia because I love the feel of the campus. I’ve known that I wanted to go to Mizzou ever since I attended the Missouri Scholars Academy, which is held on campus. We lived in the dorms for about a month and took classes led by a group of amazing instructors. MSA is such an excellent program that really allows students to pursue studies not generally offered in traditional education programs.

5 What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?
Ten years from now, I see myself working as a resident in my chosen field of medicine. I’m still debating exactly what I want to do, but I know that I want to be a medical doctor of some kind. I also hope that in 10 years, I’ll have gotten the opportunity to travel and will have seen more of the world.