Scientists claim that it is nearly impossible to get a 100% yield, but Mayo Ou at just 16 proved them and all the nonexistent haters (you literally cannot hate her) wrong. During her four years at CHS, Ou consistently impressed everyone she met with her kindness and incredible friendship, qualities she brought to every endeavor. Ou has pursued her dreams with unwavering dedication and a focus that has led her to become one of the few students accepted into Princeton University, becoming a part of the astonishing 5% acceptance rate.
On a typical day, Ou can be found in many places around campus—making balloon animals for German Club, editing pages and articles for the Wolfpacket, or solving pseudo-math problems in Carrillo’s classroom. In particular, she was president of German Club and Women in STEM, a co-captain of the cross-country team, and is, of course, this year’s Head Editor-in-Chief for none other than Claremont High School’s student-run newspaper, the Wolfpacket. Outside of school, she has also spent time organizing free coding classes for children and volunteering at the California Botanic Gardens—and as one of the four National Merit Scholars at CHS, Ou has masterfully balanced her extensive extracurricular involvement with the rigorous academics that defined her as a true academic weapon.
Ou described one of her favorite experiences as she reflected on her time—an opportunity that came through her involvement with German.
“PASCH Jugendkurs is a program where students from around the world who are learning German from different countries get together in Germany,” Ou said. “We spend three weeks there, and it’s fully funded. It was so much fun, and I made a bunch of friends from all around the world in the process.”
Apart from her interests in German, though, Ou is interested in majoring in molecular biology and minoring in mathematics, having fallen in love with the former in her sophomore year in AP Bio and the latter over the years. Eventually, she thinks she will get a Ph.D. and wind up as a biochemist or molecular biologist doing research, although the plans are still nebulous. In the meantime, Ou plans to continue her passion in journalism by joining the Daily Princetonian, the student newspaper at Princeton.
“I really loved designing pages [for the Wolfpacket],” Ou said. “I’m hoping to do something similar in college, although I’m also interested in singing and stage tech, too. Do they have a unicycle club there yet?”
She would like to shout out to her friends, her fellow EICs Lucas and Isabelle, Cassie the cat, the Wolfpacket, and Mrs. Lee, Frau Tsai, and Mr. Carrillo for being wonderful influences in her life.
As CHS waves its tearful goodbyes to Mayo Ou, the Wolfpacket wishes her all the best, both in university and beyond!
