Meiyan Zhu's sister said she should make her senior year at Hinsdale Central the best one yet. Zhu is taking that advice seriously and will be on stage Sept. 26-28 in her first play at the high school. (Jim Slonoff photo)
What do you hope to accomplish your senior year?
Meiyan Zhu has one goal for her senior year of high school, and that's to make it the best one it can be.
"I'm making sure high school doesn't pass me by," Zhu said.
She's made a conscious decision to spend her final year of high school trying new things and stepping back just a bit from her rigorous academic schedule to make time for fun.
Just days into the new school year, Zhu already has added a line to her resume as a member of the Hinsdale Central Drama Club. A member of the high school's speech team, Zhu was at a team meeting when she heard about the September play being directed by coach Paul Woods.
"I knew I had to audition," said Zhu, who tried out the next day and earned the lead role in "What the Constitution Means to Me," which will be performed Sept. 26-28.
"The woman who wrote this play wrote it largely about her own life," said Zhu, who plays the author, Heidi Shrek. Zhu said the show explores Shrek's changing relationship with the document throughout her lifetime.
"It's about our Constitution and what it means to everyone in America," Zhu said.
Having performed in musical theater productions in middle school, a return to the stage is one of several things on Zhu's senior year to-do list.
"It's my senior year. I have to do this now," Zhu said.
That includes taking part in every senior tradition possible, starting with toga night at the Sept. 6 football game.
"Everyone goes to the game in their white togas," she said.
Zhu said she dedicated much of her time and energy over the last three years to building an impressive college resume. Now, as she stands near the top of her class academically, she's decided to do a few things just for herself.
"I decided to take a photography class just because I wanted to," she said. "I am loving it."
Zhu is offering up new experiences for her classmates, too, as president of the East Asia Students Together club. Zhu, who is Chinese, said the club is in its first full year at Central and promises to offer celebrations of East Asian holidays and give students of East Asian origin a chance to meet and explore their culture.
Meanwhile, Zhu is co-president of Girls Who Code, secretary of the Red Devil Service Club and a member of the pom team. Later in her senior year, she will continue as part of the speech team and compete in badminton, all while continuing to study dance at Artistic Pursuit Studio in Westmont.
"Scheduling can be kind of hard," said Zhu, but her newfound mastery of Google calendar helps her to keep it all straight.
Of course, Zhu also is in the throes of applying to colleges in hopes of pursuing a career in engineering or perhaps another STEM field. Even as a college student, she plans to make time for the things she enjoys doing just for fun. Considering how much she's already enjoying her return to the stage, that just might include a bit of acting.
- by Sandy Illian Bosch
