Senior Mingni Dong had a successful high school career and will carry her skills to the University of Maryland, College Park, next fall.

Throughout her high school career, Dong challenged herself with a diverse array of courses. Successfully balancing rigorous courses such as Advanced Placement (AP) European History, Calculus AB and BC, Physics and more allowed for great academic achievement.

“I’m lucky that Dulaney offers a lot of AP classes, and I took advantage of these opportunities,” said Dong. “I would describe my coursework as classes that interest me.” 

Outside of class, Dong participated in many extracurricular activities within DHS. Although now on hiatus to focus on her health, Dong was involved with the Science Olympiad, Debate, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Math Club and VEX Robotics, holding a leadership title in several of those. In addition, she had a two-summer internship with the U.S. Naval Medical Center. Through a Department of Defense-sponsored program, she worked as a lab assistant for various projects within the Naval Medical Center.

“I really enjoyed this experience because I was able to gain experience with lab procedures, data analysis and the research process,” said Dong. 

All Dong’s hard work in high school paid off, as she was honored with several distinguished awards for academic and extracurricular excellence. Most notably, Dong was recognized as a National Merit scholar, a title only reserved for a tiny population of seniors with high Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) test scores nationwide. Furthermore, in May, Dong was announced as a Presidential Scholar, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school seniors. 

Looking back on her high school experience, Dong’s pursuit of academic excellence took a toll, though she has few regrets otherwise. 

“The only regret I’ve had academically is striving too much for perfection,” said Dong, adding how it heavily strained her health.

Despite this, Dong notes a much broader, positive takeaway. In speaking on the Presidential Scholar distinction, Dong commented:

“I genuinely enjoy the process of learning something new, and I think I was able to show this curiosity and interest.” 

Dong hopes to continue her academic success in college while creating a better work-life balance. She will attend the University of Maryland, College Park, next fall and major in computer science.

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