Washoe Country School District
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Taylor Smith's Profile
Senior First to Receive AP International Diploma at Incline High
Student :Taylor Smith
School: Incline Village
Taylor Smith will graduate this June accomplishing something no other Incline Village student has. She will receive an Advanced Placement International Diploma with a 5.04 grade point average.
“I just keep myself organized and motivated and sometimes that’s hard to do,” Taylor said. “You just have to prioritize your work load.”
Advanced Placement students must earn a score of 3, 4 or 5 on their exam to pass. To qualify for an International Diploma, students must earn a score of 3 on at least five AP exams. Two exams must be taken from two different languages, including English language and composition and a world language, such as French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese or Japanese. Another exam that students must pass to obtain the diploma is one designated as offering a global perspective, such as world history, human geography or government and politics. Students also must take a math or science exam (calculus, computer science, statistics, biology, chemistry, environmental science or physics) and one or two additional exams from content areas except English and world languages. These include macroeconomics, U.S. history, European History, art history, Latin literature and music theory.
Taylor has taken 10 AP exams. Although she makes it sound easy, Taylor is more than just an AP student. She has aspirations to become an actress in live theater after majoring in theater and sociology in college.
“I’m going to Muhlenberge College in Pennsylvania,” she said. “Musical theater is one of its top programs and one of the top liberal art schools in the country. I want to do live theater in some major theater in New York City or London. Then I want to start a nonprofit that uses theater as a unifying cause.”
This year, she played Maria in Incline High’s “Sound of Music” production and has attended theater camp during the summer as a high school student.
Taylor said as the first student to receive the AP diploma, she would like to set an example for others who attend the school.
“I hope other people try to get it,” she said. “It’s recognized around the world as an exceptional diploma if you apply to a college nationally.”
Faith Nicole, Taylor’s counselor, said Taylor’s achievement sets her apart from others in her school.
“I can say that she’s an exceptional student and an exceptional individual,” Nicole said. “Her teachers probably wish we could clone her. We have a lot of students at the top, but Taylor would definitely be on top of the top.”
Taylor’s mother, Emily Smith, says her two children have lived in Incline all their lives and is proud to see Taylor thrive in the Advanced Placement program.
“Of course, I’m her mother, but I think she’s fabulous,” Emily said. “She’s always been a hard worker and she really is that Renaissance kid because she’s a theater kid and is ranked second in her class with a 5.04 GPA.”
Emily went on to say Taylor has proven to be a well-rounded student.
“She’s vice president for her senior class and has played varsity tennis for three years,” she said. “She has done a lot. Her father and I are very proud of the person she is, even more than just being a student. That has been our priority with both of our kids from day one.”
