Freshman year can be tough for almost anyone. High School is a challenging and rigorous experience, especially as a freshman at Iowa City West High School. For Catherine Yang ‘23, the one thing that will help her get through high school, is herself.

Yang has been writing for several years, and plans on using her writing skills to her advantage.

Yang wants to follow her passions and use them to her advantage.

“My favorite class right now is Foundations of Journalism. My favorite teacher is Mrs. Whittaker. This is the case because I love writing, and I am interested in joining the West Side Story.” Yang said. 

Yang recently moved to Iowa City, and she has been looking for the right people to stick by her. So far, Catherine has made a few friends, and because of that, her main goal is to make even more friends. 

“Hopefully I make new friends. There are people that I have met so far, that I consider friends. However, I just moved to Iowa City, and I literally don’t know anyone, so my main goal is to find people that will stick with me.” Yang said

Yang views writing as an outlet, or a safe haven. After school, she thinks that it is a way to relax, and to express herself. Not only does she want to join the West Side Story, but she also hopes to write for the New York Times one day.

“The first journalistic source that I would want to work for is the New York Times. I mean, it’s the New York Times. Who doesn’t want to work for them? It’s a dream of mine.” Yang said. 

Catherine recently went to the club fair at West, and immediately became interested. However, there was one club that was particularly interesting to her – Speech and Debate.

“What I noticed at the club fair is that there were a lot of clubs that I was interested in. I think that the club I am most interested in is Speech and Debate. The club struck me as interesting, because my passion of writing can help me with debating people.” Yang said. 

Although she is ready for this school year, she does have concerns. Catherine wants to succeed freshman year, but she also wants to keep up with her school work. She wants to have a healthy, and fun High School experience.