As the school year is coming to an end, Yorba Linda Mustangs are sad to see many notable seniors leave and move on to college. Sara Bassiri (12), in particular, is an extraordinary student that will be missed dearly. Not only does Sara exceed in her academic life, she also shines in her extracurricular activities on campus. While taking a whopping twelve AP classes and passing all of the tests with 4’s and 5’s, she has also participated in the school’s mock trial program, PTSA, French Club, National Honor Society, and CSF.

Since sophomore year, Sara has been a devoted member of the mock trial team on campus, attending around a dozen competitions at the Santa Ana Courthouse against other schools in the Orange County. She enjoys playing the witness characters because she gets to put her own personality into the role. This year, she takes on a lot of the responsibility after being appointed one of the assistant captains. She makes sure all new members are acclimated to the structure of the class, and she assists in editing and writing directs and crosses. She has also been a member of the French Club since freshman year, working her way up to the title of “President” in her senior year.

When asked about her favorite classes, she immediately mentioned AP Literature and AP Macroeconomics. She enjoyed Mrs. St. Amant’s memes and Mr. Lejano’s consistent uplifting energy and passion for the class.

When the time came to apply to colleges, Sara’s top choice was UCLA, but she still applied to numerous different schools all across the country. She ended up choosing to attend University of California, San Diego next fall.

At San Diego, she will be majoring in Biology, as she aspires to become a doctor in the near future. People have told her that UCSD stands for UCSociallyDead, so she plans on rushing a sorority to meet new people.

As she prepares her departure from high school, she reflects on her experience at YL. She’s glad that she joined a lot of different classes, clubs, and extracurriculars these past four years because it gave her a chance to discover what her passion was. Even though she loves the social sciences, and even considered studying law in college, she now knows that the medical field is her endgame.