Senior achieves a prestigious award due to her hard work, dedication

Determination is what usually leads people to succeed in life, no matter how challenging the obstacle.

Jalaj Haryani, senior, gave her best to earn the Tennis Award with a GPA of 4.0 during the fall season. Saying that she was happy is an understatement since it was a mixture of being excited and proud of herself. Even if she juggled her academic, social and athletic life, she credits her hard work as something that’s very worth it.

 “I’m really determined because I don’t like seeing myself [not succeed]. I prepare for everything ahead of time so I know I can do well; that’s my biggest strength,” Haryani said.

Teachers play a big role in school.They help students to stay on top of material. They tutor individuals when they are struggling to get a good grade. They also advise people to ask questions and get extra help in and outside of class.

“One of the things that I loved about having Jalaj as a student was the joy that she brought to chemistry class.  She loved to laugh and didn’t take herself too seriously.  Jalaj respected me as a teacher yet brought joy to the learning process.  Her attitude encouraged everyone to have fun while learning tough material,” said Katovich.

Katovich also sees Haryani as a student who is true to herself and tells what she thinks about the subject.

“Jalaj possesses amazing qualities of intelligence, compassion, and gratitude.  But the strongest trait that stands out to me is Jalaj’s ability to be genuine.  I also love Jalaj’s passion for life,” said Katovich. “One of my favorite memories was her willingness to make us matching orange and blue tutus that we wore during Homecoming spirit week of her sophomore year.  She embraces every experience in life, whether it’s serious learning or silly fun.  She brings a passion for life that can’t be matched.”

Parents are basically the two major components of what makes a person, a person. For Haryani, her parents are the reason why she is determined to do well in her academic and social life. They are also the reason why she doesn’t give up even if the challenges make her want to quit.

“It would be my parents. I look back and I felt a lot of healthy pressure because of them. I ended up getting this award and all of my accomplishments because of them. It’s all about my mom and dad,” Haryani said when asked about who she would give praise to for helping her succeed.

Every goal starts with a reason why a student wants to achieve an end result. Haryani’s reason is that she is determined is also focused on a bright future. She is basically like every senior student who wants to have a better life than today. For Haryani, it takes perseverance.

“I want to major in finance because I want to work for a company one day, be their financial adviser. In college, my goals are [to attend] a nice school that has a good business program, hopefully get a scholarship and then in life, the goal is to be successful and happy,” she said. “It’s not always about making money but it’s knowing I’m doing what I love and doing it well.”

Being a student at Hoffman Estates High School for four years has been a really big part of Haryani’s life. All those people she met and social events she joined will be her greatest memories.

“Hoffman’s such a great school, the teachers, the spirit. Everyone’s nice and accepting here; so overall, HEHS is what I’ll miss. It’s not just high school but Hoffman,” she said. “If I went to any other school, I wouldn’t have experienced it in the same way.”

As a senior, many lessons and advice were given and placed in her heart. She experienced a lot of roller coaster rides when she became a student here.

“You can’t let people bring you down. You [have to] keep going no matter what social norms are like. I’m probably the biggest nerd here but it’s alright,” Haryani said.

“To be successful, you just have to want it more than anything. Some people experience failure because they don’t want it as much as the next person does. You have to ask for help and you just have to try really hard,” She added.

When Fall Sports Awards was held on November 1, Haryani was among five Fall Scholar Athletes recognized. The following also received honors:

Colin Maher, Boys’ Soccer (3.9 GPA)
Mohammed Saleem, Boys’ Cross Country (3.9 GPA)
Ryan Greenwalt, Boys’ Cross Country (3.9 GPA)
Ena Rizvic, Girls’ Tennis (4.0 GPA)