Sacred Heart Academy is a community full of young women who embody the motto of, “Excelsior: Ever Higher.” One student in particular who has truly risen to every occasion is Eunji Lee of  the Class of 2018. An exceptional scholar and musician, Eunji’s passion for what she does has been evident in her success throughout her high school career. Her most recent achievement is being named a National Merit Finalist, placing in the top one percent of the 1.5 million students across the nation who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. However, this is only one of her many accomplishments.

Eunji has been recognized continuously for her outstanding scholastic achievements. Upon being accepted to Sacred Heart Academy, she received the Sr. Antonine Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to the top scorers of the SHA entrance exam. Since then, she has been named an AP Scholar with Distinction, meaning she scored a three or higher on five or more AP exams, with an average of at least 3.5 on all of the AP exams she has taken. In her junior year, she received the Yale Book Award and the University of Rochester Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology. Eunji has also won numerous awards for her independent research, including recognition at the state and international level. Her project using deep convolutional neural networks to detect bleeding in endoscopy images placed second in physical sciences at the Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair in 2017, and made her a finalist at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair that year. She has gone on to continue her work as an intern in the Department of Clinical Chemistry at the Yale-New Haven Hospital, designing a stability and validation study for comprehensive metabolic panel analytes using newly released blood collection tubes. Eunji currently has a paper being edited for publication and she also plans to study computer science in college.

Moreover, Eunji is always generous in sharing her many gifts. She contributes to her community both in and out of school. Throughout high school, Eunji has held several leadership positions. As a senior, she currently serves as the National Honor Society treasurer, Mu Alpha Theta (Mathematics Honor Society) president and captain of the Moody Mega Math Challenge Team. She has also previously served as the communications director for Mu Alpha Theta and Moody Mega Math, as well as Math League captain. In addition to math and science, Eunji also has a passion for music. She is a remarkable violinist, having represented Sacred Heart Academy at the Southern Regional and All State music festivals, and she volunteers much of her time to teaching violin to younger children.

Whether it is in the classroom, orchestra, or the laboratory, Eunji serves as a leader and inspiration to those around her. Propelled by her passion for problem-solving, she is never one to shy away from a challenge. The courage and charisma that she possesses are qualities of the quintessential Excelsior woman. It is individuals like Eunji that make Sacred Heart Academy a truly unique place. We are eager to see what the world has in store for her as she continues her journey ever higher.