Baqai was surprised when her name was said aloud. “Throughout my time at Notre Dame, I have been with people significantly smarter and more hardworking than I am,” said Baqai.
The title of valedictorian comes with the honor of giving a speech to her classmates during graduation.
When asked about her post-NDB plans, she said the school’s rigorous academics have prepared her for college as she was constantly challenged to do her best, while also balancing the need for students to be able to express themselves through creativity and extracurricular involvement.
“It’s been a really good experience, and I am really lucky to go to a school that really cares about all aspects of our life; our physical [and] mental health, our academics, our social careers, and I feel very prepared for college,” shared Baqai.
In the school community, Baqai is the captain of the mock trial team, founder and president of The Coalition for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), as well as a member of the National Honor Society.
Over the past four years, she has been the recipient of many awards, including the AP English Literature course award, the Saint Julie Billiart Life Science award as well as the English II Honors course award during her sophomore year.
Nguyen was similarly shocked to be named the salutatorian. “I wasn’t expecting it at all,” said Nguyen. “I knew I had taken rigorous classes, but I respect my peers so much that I expected [the title] to go to one of them.”
Like Baqai, Nguyen has consistently done well during her previous years at NDB, earning course awards in AP Art History and AP Spanish Language along with a recent outstanding achievement in AP Spanish Literature and a second-place finish in the AMC math competition.
At NDB, Nguyen serves as the vice-president for The Coalition for DEIB. She notes she “always felt supported by the people around [her],” highlighting NDB’s sense of community.
While they will head in different directions this fall – Baqai to UC Berkeley to study molecular biology and Nguyen to UCLA to major in psychology – they both emphasized a shared appreciation for the community that helped them reach this milestone. Their accomplishments mark the end of an important chapter, but also the beginning of exciting new journeys where they will continue to build on the strong foundation they developed at NDB over the past four years.
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