Coppell High School senior Priya Marella is ranked No. 3 in the graduating class of 2021. Marella will be attending the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the fall with a provisional acceptance into New Jersey Medical School for a seven year BS/MD program.
Priya Marella
What does it mean to you to be in the top 10?
Being in the top 10 was something I always wanted to do, and seeing my sister (CHS class of 2016 valedictorian Pooja Marella), I knew it was a goal that I could also receive. Starting freshman year itself, I worked extra hard, and I’m glad that I continued to challenge myself even though it was not easy at all. Just because I’m in the top 10 doesn’t mean I did extremely well in every single one of my classes. If it’s something you really want to do, you’re hard working and manage your time well, it’s something you can achieve.
How did you work towards this goal?
If you do well in one class, it helps you do better in all your other classes. After my freshman year when I took AP biology, AP human geography and AP world history, I didn’t feel like any of my other years of high school were as hard as that, so it made it easier to take harder classes.
What advice would you give younger students?
Every student always wants to procrastinate. That’s a problem every student has, but you need to get over that. There are some people who may be able to do well even if they procrastinate, but my advice is to really manage your time well. It helped me to have a mental checklist of what I wanted to accomplish each week.
Make sure you know what your teacher wants. In the beginning of the first nine weeks, it’s always about getting accustomed to my teacher and what they expect out of me. Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher questions and go to tutoring, because it’s really going to help you out.
What is something you wish you told your younger self?
I would have told her to be less stressed. At that moment, it really does feel like that one test is going to be the defining moment of your life, but that’s not the case. You’re going to get so many more chances to improve.
Rank is important, but it’s not the end goal. For me, the end goal was getting into a good college and being able to pursue medicine. Rank was just something that would help me get there, but it wasn’t the end all be all.
What are thoughts on the current education system?
I think having rank is important. It was one of the reasons I chose to go to CHS, because it really helps you when you’re applying for colleges. It doesn’t put you at a disadvantage, but it can put you at an advantage. You are taking away a lot of competition and some cheating may go away, but I feel like some students may lose an incentive or a goal to work towards. I don’t think cheating would go away even if ranking was stopped either.
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