Lilly Kaplan (‘26) is in the final semester of her senior year here at Mead High, and she is so excited to see where the stream of adulthood will take her.
Lilly plans to attend Concordia University in Wisconsin to study English and business as a double major. With her degree, she hopes to become a publisher. She would like to be in a leading position so she can “boss people around” and continue to keep in touch with her passion for reading.
Kaplan plans to live on campus and is so thrilled to be able to live next to one of the things she loves the most: water. Concordia is placed on Lake Michigan, and she is more than excited to be able to explore and live on her own, and start fresh. She also thinks she would like to do a semester studying abroad or studying at different Concordia universities all around the United States, because she isn’t quite sure if Wisconsin is far enough from her soon-to-be old life.
“I’m definitely, like, a free spirit, so I’m excited to go out and explore. I don’t know if it’s far enough away, you know? I actually plan on doing a study abroad, like a semester in Europe… or Concordia [has] different colleges in the country,” she explained.
Not only is she an explorer of sorts, but she is also quite the smart cookie. Lilly says that she is so proud of herself for being able to pass AP Calculus and maintain a 4.1 GPA almost all four years of high school. She says that really helped her when applying for scholarships and college applications. She is also proud of herself for being able to grow and have such meaningful friendships throughout her years.
“I think Ive had a lot of friendships; theres been lots of ups and down with a lot of people, a lot of fling-outs, but I think thats made me grow into somebody who see’s value in people and understands that… you don’t have to keep somebody in your [entire] life for them to have an impact on who you are.”
Lilly has always had a love for books, but never quite saw all the hype around English as a whole. But, ever since she was put into one of Ms. Hedluns’ English classes, she claims that she has never loved the subject more. “Ms. Hedlun helped me, like, really helped me out. Because beforehand I had some buns English teachers, and so I was like, oh, I don’t like this. But she really helped me understand my love for dissecting text and understanding literary themes.”
Lilly would also like to thank Ms. Berry for helping her understand the emotional side of herself. Berry helped teach her that it’s okay to stand for the things that you love and believe in, and that in this world, everyone has a purpose.
Some of Lilly’s favorite memories come from the spring musical, the stupid things she did in the back of class, and the silly jokes she made through it all. She is always laughing and enjoying her moments, even if someone tells her she isn’t funny or that the moment is over. She never lets anyone dim her bright fire.
So, as Lilly moves on into the world that comes after high school, her advice to freshmen and her past self is always do what you love, because, in the end, you will regret not doing it. “Because life is so much bigger and beautiful when you embrace it all.”
