“I used to be really involved in DECA, I still I am, but I used to be in love with DECA, DECA was like my life and everything I did and I was pretty good at it but sometimes you put in a lot of work for something and you don’t get that recognition that you want, it really makes you question how successful you were or your own measure of self-worth in that moment. But at the same time, you have...

“I realized that dreams do come true, I don’t know, because this whole being a senior thing, and I’m headed off to college in a few months and I’ve been waiting for all my college acceptances and rejections and everything, and after I got accepted by my top school, I was like ‘Oh! Okay, so dreams do come true!’”

From mermaid style to ball gowns, there seems to be an endless number of prom dresses available to fulfill a high school girl’s image of the perfect dress. However a few like Jessica Qu, advanced fashion student and senior, find that the perfect dress is in the hands of the creator. Qu, who plans to major in fashion in college, is among the minority who choose to plan, stitch and sew their own...

“(Gender nonconformity) is a topic that frequently comes up during discussion. I think a lot of that is just teenagers who are generally trying to figure out their place, and that can be even more challenging for someone who doesn’t fit the ‘norm.’ I think it’s natural for everyone to be unsure. We talk about things like that as they come up.”

“(I have certain pins on my backpack showing LGBTQ+ support because) I am president of the GSA, and also because I use (these pins) as a way for people to know who I am. It’s a way to express myself, and so people know that this is me. I want to be a safe person, I’m pretty open-minded. (These pins) help people notice me more, and people compliment me on my pins. I don’t know what the people...