Del Mar High's Molica Nol is Never Gonna Give Up

Molica Nol is a senior at . This isn't the first time I've met her. In fact, we were introduced months ago when I was working on an outreach program at the high school.

This senior comes across as friendly but confident in herself. She's articulate and warm, and smiles when she talks about her friends and friendships.

She moved to California from Massachusetts in the hope of getting a better education.

This is part of a series of high school graduation stories that will run throughout the week, highlighting high school seniors at the various school sites and their stories.

All the schools within the district will have their graduation ceremonies on Thursday.

This is Molica Nol's story.

Campbell Patch: How are you feeling?

Molica Nol: I'm feeling great. Super excited.

Patch: What will you miss most?

Molica: The friendships that I've made and the caring teachers, mostly.

Patch: What will you miss least?

Molica: Of course, the homework. I don't mind it, but it's definitely not at the top of my like list.

Patch: What are you looking forward to?

Molica: The new experiences and making new friends and the challenges ahead of me.

Patch: Who inspires you?

Molica: My grandparents, Nil Por and Kimsan Ly. They brought me up since I was a baby, and they keep telling me: "Keep pushing."

They've always been there for me. They've never given up on me. They're the motivation for everything that I do. My parents were never really around.

Patch: What teacher made an impact in your life?

Molica: My AP Government teacher, Mrs. Hinton. We got really close between my sophomore year and senior year. She gets on a personal level with her students.

Straight up. We can share our thoughts with her. She's kind of like another mother to me.

I got here sophomore year, and she stuck by my side through it all. She told me to always keep moving forward and to learn from my mistakes.

Patch: What college are you planning to attend?

Molica: San Jose State University. It wasn't my first choice. That was University of the Pacific.

Patch: Are you the first to go to college in your family?

Molica: I'm the first in my family, yes.

Patch: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Molica: A pharmacist.  My family and I talked about what would be a perfect match for me. I'm sociable, I like to work with people and I love science. This seemed to be a good workout for me. 

Patch: What was your favorite high school memory?

Molica: It actually just happened. We had our senior awards night, and I received the John Nolan Award. Our superintendent, , had worked with the guy a really long time, and this was the first scholarship to be give out in his name.

She cried, I cried. It was one of the best feelings in the world.

Patch: What was your most difficult high school challenge?

Molica: Not following the crowd. At Del Mar, we have so many cliques. Even within the cliques, people talk about each other behind their backs.

Trying not to associate with them; the drinking and the drugs. A lot of my friends would ask me to go to parties, go to dances. It wasn't my thing.

Patch: What was your favorite class?

Molica: World History Honors my sophomore year and AP Government this year. They were definitely a thrill.

Patch: What was your least favorite class?

Molica: AP Statistics. The teacher is cool and all, but there were the wrong type of kids in the class. You just couldn't focus, and everybody cheated. Not the brightest class for an AP class.

Patch: Any plans after graduation?

Molica: Probably traveling and spending time with my family.

Patch: Why is it important, to you, to go to college?

Molica: Because I think it brings you somewhere in the future. You're building out your future through the college experience. What do you want to do, what you don't; this is the time to change it, what major works for you and doesn't.

It's important not just to prove something but to test your limits and to see how far you can go. See how hard you can push yourself.