- Hometown:
- Chicago, IL
Biography
An AP Scholar with Distinction, Thalia is the first Wells Scholar from Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, where she was president of the Alternative Political Groups Club, which discussed political systems around the world, and a founding member of the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing club. She was a member of the Payton Players at her school, performing in Shakespeare’s As You Like It and directing Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and the director’s intern with Shakespeare’s Youth of Hyde Park. She says Shakespeare got her on stage, and she is eager to continue her involvement in acting and directing. She wrote about nutrition for her school’s Youth Wellness Team website, a Mikva Challenge initiative that builds on youth voice and expertise to create resources and improve the health curriculum in Chicago’s schools. During her sophomore year while living in Bolivia, she volunteered with Working for Working Children as a translator for Inti Magazine; with APACH, an animal protection organization; and with BiblioWorks, a non-profit organization that serves communities in need through education and literacy projects. She plans to major in international studies and to work on strengthening the connections between the United States and the rest of the world.
She is drawn to the writing of Oscar Wilde because she aspires to have his attitude toward beauty and society and would like to be a quarter as witty as he.
She will hold the Kathryn Jane Alexander Hutton Scholarship in the Wells Scholars Program.