Student Council’s Pink Out Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Front row: Caitlin McGregor, Ashley Laman and Kelsey Johnson. Second Row: Katie Janda, Haylee Zatopek, Lydia Horehlad, Julia Riley and Kelly McClanahan. Back Row: Jacob Smith.
A senior at Needville High School, Julia Riley is a standout student. As one of the only National Merit Semifinalists from Needville High School, Julia is a unique and talented young lady. In addition to her academic achievements, Julia has been actively involved in Girl Scouts, church, choir, Spanish Club, University Interscholastic League (UIL) academics, speech and debate, National Honor Society, Student Council, Book Club and other organizations.
Julia is an honors student who takes many challenging AP courses; however, she was shocked when she received the news that she is a National Merit Semifinalist. “I wasn’t expecting to be a Semifinalist,” said Julia. “It was a big surprise, but I feel very honored.”
This young lady’s strong academic skills have played a major role in her success on the UIL Academics Team and the Speech and Debate Team. As a freshman and sophomore, Julia participated in the Spelling and Vocabulary contest for the UIL Academic Competition. As a freshman, Julia placed second individually at District and ninth at Regionals. For her sophomore year, Julia won first place at District and sixth place at Regionals. For her freshman and sophomore years, the Spelling and Vocabulary team won first place at District.
This past year, Julia competed on a team of four in the UIL Academics Literary Criticism event that consists of a large reading list and the application of literary terms. “I love books and English class, so this contest seemed like the perfect event for me,” said Julia. “Also, I really enjoyed working with my teammates because we all wanted to succeed and do well at the contest.” Julia’s team won first at Regionals and third at State last year.
Julia was extremely successful with the Academics Team and the Speech and Debate Team. She participated in the Lincoln-Douglas event and won first place in District for her sophomore year and second in District her junior year. She went on to win fourth place in Regionals during her junior year. The Lincoln-Douglas debate topics are based on value resolutions, which interested Julia because she likes hearing other people’s opinions, and she prefers discussing morals and beliefs rather than facts. “When I first joined the team, I didn’t have much self-confidence,” said Julia. “Debate really helped me become more confident in my abilities, and it made me realize that I enjoy speaking in front of a group of people.”
Julia also loves to sing. She was an active choir member at school during her freshman and sophomore year until vocal cord nodules forced her to quit the school choir. She was very sad to quit; however, Julia was able to stay involved in her church choir that she has been member of since Kindergarten.
In addition to singing, Julia is an active church member traveling on choir tours, mission trips and assisting with the youth ministry as a Junior Counselor. She loves volunteering with her church.
Julia has also earned her Bronze, Silver and Gold Award for Girl Scouts. For her Bronze Award, Julia organized a rally to get girls interested in joining the Girl Scouts. To complete her Silver Award, Julia assisted a local church update a new meeting facility. Julia decided to update the Fort Bend County Women’s Center Teen Room for her Gold Award project. The project gave Julia the opportunity to interact with the teens at the Women’s Center.
Julia volunteers for service projects with other organizations including the Spanish Club, Student Council and National Honor Society. Her willingness to always volunteer and help others is a testament to her kind and giving spirit. She truly stands out as a generous, intelligent and humble teenager. Next year, Julia plans on attending the University of Texas. She would like to become a pastor, youth minister or missionary. With her passion for serving others and her public speaking abilities, Julia will achieve all of her future goals. Good luck Julia!