By RENEE WANG
STAFF WRITER
One moment, she can be seen dancing to the rhythmic beat of the music, center stage. In the next, she is promoting one of the most popular clothing brands in America. And just when you think she may have too much on her plate, she is taking on leadership roles within several clubs to help her community. All while keeping up with her academics, junior Sally Pan is a prime example of how talent and hard work can achieve great things.
Throughout her high school career, Pan has shown immense success from the dedication she shows to her passions. From being the head of rallies in the Associated Student Body (ASB) to competing in dance competitions, Pan’s activities keep her active and involved in school and her community.
Pan’s love of dance began at a very young age, where she gradually fell in love with the art.
“I started dancing when I was six years old, but it was never really serious until I was in sixth grade,” Pan said. “[I believe at that point] I continued to dance because I really enjoyed it and it eventually became a major part of my identity.”
Once Pan entered high school, she became heavily involved with dance performances ranging from competitions to choreographing her own dances.
“I received many opportunities to be involved with dance in high school. Last year, I competed in the Kids Artistic Revue (KAR) for the title winner. I was quite nervous about [the differences] of my performance [compared to others], since it was more artistic compared to what others did, but I ended up getting first runner-up,” Pan said. “This year, my studio director trusted me to assemble a jazz dance team, whom I had to choreograph a dance in a span of just three days. Both of these [events] were a memorable experience for me as it was my first time competing in KAR and choreographing for jazz. Seeing [my experiences] all come together made me extremely proud; they are something I will always remember.”
In addition to her dance achievements, Pan’s love for spreading school spirit and preparing for events allowed her to become the head of rallies for ASB.
“I like getting involved with the student body and organizing events. Initially, I joined because the ASB supervisor, Ms. Branconier-Habash, persuaded me to apply for ASB. From there, [I could see myself having a lot of fun with encouraging school spirit to everyone],” Pan said.
Along with ASB, Pan also involved herself with being the KIWIN’S vice president.
“[In the beginning], I joined KIWIN’S mainly due to my friend, but later on, I continued in order to help out my community, especially those in need,” Pan said.
Since joining, Pan was able to make irreplaceable memories with her friends and the club members.
“My favorite part of KIWIN’S was always the District Convention as it brought a lot of spirit to the club members. [Last year,] we were able to perform a dance that won us first place, which I believe brought us closer together,” Pan said.
Along with KIWIN’S, Pan is also the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) historian. Pan states her favorite part of the club is being able to spend quality time with friends while staying busy.
“FBLA also brings a lot of opportunities, [for instance], when we traveled to Sacramento for state competitions. The fact that I get to travel with friends while competing made it a memorable experience for me.”
Besides school clubs, Pan is also one of the 60 unique brand agents for Hollister, actively promoting their clothing as well as creating an online community through social media, ultimately bringing her many opportunities to learn from a new environment.
“At the time, Hollister was sending emails to its subscribers [in case] they wanted to apply to become an agent for the brand. I was still considering if I would go for the interview, but with the support of my sister, I ended up trying out,” Pan said. “The chances were slim but once I made it, I was able to travel to Hollister’s headquarters in Ohio and meet the product team, learn more about marketing, and talk to so many new people. Currently, my job is to spread brand love through social media and completing assigned projects.”
With her multitudes of activities, Pan admits it proves to be difficult finding time for herself.
“[As high school progressed], I started to become aware of the lack of free time I had because of my activities and academics,” Pan said. “My free time consists of making up for sleep and other than that, I just try to find time to breathe and relax.”
However, Pan never fails to look at the positive side of the activities providing her endless amounts of opportunities.
“With all of the extracurriculars, I eventually had to learn how to balance my time, which gradually made me prefer being more active than idle,” Pan said. “While it was difficult since I had a limited amount of time, I knew I was really fortunate to be able to experience so many [events] in and outside of school.”
Throughout all her notable achievements she has made throughout high school, Pan states that she could not have done it without her family and friends’ support.
“My family was [remarkably] supportive of me pursuing my passions. My mom is very involved in my activities as she keeps track of what I need to do in case I forget and her support always makes me more motivated to continue my activities. My sister also gives me her opinion very straight-forwardly, which helps me [develop a better sense of my skills],” Pan said. “I would also like to thank my friends and teachers as I would not be here without them.”
Due to her experience with FBLA and Hollister, Pan hopes to pursue her studies in business at a college on the east coast and at the same time, continue to dance as a hobby.
“[In the future], I hope to attend a college on the east coast, which I plan on majoring in business due to my experiences with Hollister,” Pan said. “At the same time, I also hope to pursue dance because it is such a significant part of my life. Overall, I will see where life takes me.”
With her vast array of extracurriculars and dedication, Pan is undoubtedly set for amazing success in the future and maybe something even bigger.
