“Maggie is…a leader. She strives for excellence and always supports her friends,” says Samara Jackson, one of Maggie’s friends and fellow council members. Maggie Wu, a sophomore at Wilcox High School, embodies the Charger spirit and spreads kindness and determination wherever she goes. She excels academically, with fantastic grades in addition to her many extracurricular activities. Maggie is currently vice president of the sophomore council, and an officer in various clubs including TSA, Crochet Club, Programming Club, and the Wilcox Ambassador Program. Outside of school, she is usually crocheting or playing the piano.
Born in Taiwan, Maggie moved to the U.S. when she was 9 years old. She still speaks fluent Mandarin at home and with friends at school. Maggie adjusted quickly after the move—“I made friends really fast and was able to pick up the language quite fast too. Everything was super different from Taiwan but I was really more excited than scared.” Moving away from her family was difficult though, as Maggie recalls feeling homesick after her first Lunar New Year in the U.S. Currently, Maggie helps make Wilcox more welcoming to foreign students. As secretary of the Wilcox Ambassadors Program, Maggie tutors other Mandarin speakers, offering valuable assistance and knowledge.
Maggie has always pursued academic excellence, touting a 4.0 GPA. She has taken a multitude of honors and AP classes, including Chemistry and Trigonometry honors and AP European History. She often attends the Russian School of Math, maintaining her work ethic outside of school and keeping sight of her goals. She says, “I always make to-do lists for myself after school to remind myself how much work I need to get done, and that always pushes me to not procrastinate and get it done. Lately, I’ve been telling myself don’t think just do it, which really…gets me to just do the work.”
Maggie has been involved in Wilcox leadership for two years, serving as secretary for the class of 2026’s freshman council, and vice president this year. She has been integral to the success of the sophomore class in Homecoming. Aside from planning, for both years, Maggie participated in the skit dances, painted the banner, and helped build the float, even starring in this year’s skit as the Queen of Hearts. These experiences are ones close to Maggie’s heart, with her saying, “I genuinely love it so much even though it can get really stressful as a council member. My favorite part is definitely the weekend dance practices or banner painting sessions.”
Maggie is an officer for the Crochet Club, Programming Club, and the Taiwanese Student Association. She is both co-president and founder of TSA; after talking to Michelle Wu, the other co-president, she wanted to educate her peers about Taiwanese food, culture, and scenery. Maggie mentioned, “I will never forget the first general meeting of TSA where I walked into Ms. Slate’s class and there were SO many people. That really got me excited for the rest of the club meetings.” You’ll often find Maggie with her crochet hooks in hand. It’s a hobby that Maggie picked up over the summer, and instantly grew to love. She enjoys meeting other crochet enthusiasts at the meetings.
As a vital part of the Wilcox community, Maggie is always ready to lend a hand to someone in need. Vidhya Subbarayan says Maggie is “always bright and encouraging.” Leela Mathur says, “I love Maggie, she’s always so sweet.” After high school, she wants to attend college and major in something related to math, and eventually become a math teacher. According to her fellow students, Maggie spreads kindness and enthusiasm everywhere she goes. When asked for some final words of advice, Maggie said, “Everything will be okay in the end. It might not feel like it at first, but you’ll get through it, and never lose who you are.”
