A new addition to the school arrived at the end of March and it has nothing to do with the pesky construction taking place around campus. It came in the form of a new student, senior Caitlin Landin.

Being an average teenage girl, Landin enjoys watching Netflix, eating junk food, and hanging out with her friends; however, her academic success and hard work has pushed her far beyond the term “average.”

“My first couple weeks here were tough, but I’ve adjusted and made new friends.”

At Landin’s old school, Brazoswood High School in Clute, Texas, her senior class was comprised of 565 students, and her rank among them only put her in the 15th percentile.

“Sadly, I wasn’t in the top ten percent at my old school,” Landin said. “My senior class was huge and most of them were very smart. I was ranked 84, but only made it under the 15 percent mark.”

When she moved, she realized the class size here was much smaller, 324 students, and her hard work was finally able to push her into the top ten percent, which was exciting news for both her and her parents.

“I was ecstatic when I heard that I had made it into the top ten percent,” Landin said. “It was definitely something to be proud of.”

Along with her grades, Landin has been involved in various organizations throughout her high school career.

“I was in Colorguard for three years, but quit at the end of my junior year,” Landin said. “I was also in track for half a semester and in Choir my junior and senior years. I was also a Choir officer and involved in National Honor Society.”

With her impressive resume, she plans to attend Blinn College in Bryan, Texas, after high school and live in an apartment in Aggie Station. She hopes to later transfer to A&M after just a semester at Blinn.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to major in at college,” Landin said. “I do know that my favorite subject is math. I enjoy working on problems until I find the answer.”

The top ten percent was announced just a few months after Landin moved, and her academics pushed students out of the top ten percent who previously held a spot within it.

“It was never my intention to make people fall out of the top ten percent,” Landin said. “I wasn’t expecting to be in it myself.”

As for advice to others who are striving to make it in the top ten percent, she offers an old-fashioned method for being successful in the future.

“Pay attention and do 110 percent,” Landin said. “You only get out whatever you put into it so you might as well do your best.”