Every Evergreen issue is backed by a team that puts in extra hours to ensure every detail is perfect and fact-checked. Not only does each member devote significant time and effort to the Evergreen, but they also excel in their other interests and commitments. This article highlights some of the achievements of Evergreen’s print executive editors.
Chloe Nguyen, Executive Editor
Outside of the Evergreen, senior Chloe Nguyen has participated on the girls varsity basketball team. In her freshman year, Nguyen chose to focus on developing her skills on the junior varsity team instead of immediately joining the varsity team.
“I am grateful for that experience,” Nguyen said. “I think it definitely prepared me to be the best player I could be in the following years.”
After her freshman season, Nguyen became the varsity team’s starting point guard her sophomore year.
“I never really thought about the whole concept of starting,” Nguyen said. “I definitely cared a lot more each time I made a mistake starting as a sophomore than starting as a senior now.”
Finishing up her senior season, Nguyen tore her ACL in a game against Parish Episcopal School following from Winter Break. Although this is not the way she had hoped her high school basketball career would end, Nguyen says this experience allowed her to reflect on her love for the sport.
“When I lost the ability to actually play, my love of the game is still was not lost,” Nguyen said. “It was the other parts, like being part of the basketball program, that made me love it so much, being a part of the team and having something to look forward to every day and feel productive doing.”
Although Nguyen is out for the season, she continues with her responsibilities as the team captain and supports her teammates as the end of the season approaches.
“Chloe is a very good captain,” sophomore Ava John said. “She always sends reminders in our group chat each night to make sure everyone on the team is on the same page.”
Additionally, Nguyen has spent many hours participating in community service activities, leading two community service-based clubs: Heroes for Children and Choose Kind 4 Kids.
“I created the [Heroes for Children Club] last year,” Nguyen said. “It is really inspiring to watch all of these kids voluntarily come and help with whatever project we are working on because they could be doing their homework or spending time with friends.”
The Choose Kind 4 Kids club at Greenhill is a chapter of Nguyen’s own nonprofit organization.
“My dad and I had to register it through the state, and I built a website for it,” Nguyen said. “Additionally, just creating an institutional structure within it taught me a lot on how to be a leader because I am trying to do that.”
Christan Park, Executive Editor
Senior Christan Park joined the East Asian Affinity Group (EAAG) during her freshman year under her older brother Matthew Park’s ’22 influence. Shortly after, Park says she found learning about her own culture enjoyable.
“My family only celebrates Lunar New Year, so I thought that it was a nice experience to learn about other traditions, like the Mid-Autumn Festival,” Park said.
Inspired by the previous EAAG leaders, Park continued to engage with the group and became the group’s president senior year.
“You have the opportunity to learn about your community and have that space to talk about whatever you want at EAAG,” Park said. “That is why I wanted to join the leadership team.”
Over the summer, Park worked with the EAAG leaders to create more engaging activities in hopes of increasing participation this year.
“We always wanted to do more activities to get more people involved,” Park said. “Because obviously, there are a lot of East Asians at Greenhill, but some of them just do not show up to EAAG.”
One idea that came up during brainstorming was incorporating the viral Netflix show “Squid Game” into the EAAG meetings. The leaders decided on reasonable challenges with rules that can be done on campus and received positive feedback from members of the affinity group
“I thought it was a fun experience when EAAG incorporated Squid Game, which is obviously part of our identity, into the meeting,” junior Justin Wu said.
Additionally, Park has allotted several hours to music. When she first joined the Greenhill Band in fifth grade, Park recalls choosing between the flute and the trombone.
“I could not make a sound on any reed instrument,” Park said. “I was very short at the time and my arm could not reach the lowest note on the trombone. So, I chose the flute in the end.”
Park started taking private lessons and practicing daily in sixth grade and has been a member of the Texas Private School Music Educators Association All-State Band for all four years of high school.
“I think TPSMEA is the most fun event because we are able to go with the orchestra as well,” Park said. “You can see all kinds of band players from Texas and make new friends.”
Other than EAAG and band, Park also participated in scientific research aligning with her future aspirations. While balancing many commitments, Park says her passion for the Evergreen remains important and the experience has taught her valuable lessons.
“Evergreen has helped me become not only a strong writer but also someone who is able to go out and talk to others during interviews,” Park said. “Now that I am here for layout every month or so, this truly feels like a second home to me.”
