Senior Julia Platt Honored as Stellar Student

The Northside Neighbor has chosen AGS senior Julia Platt as the Stellar Student feature this month. Congratulations, Julia! Please find the full article – Atlanta Girls’ School’s Platt excels in juggling academics, athletics reproduced below. 
STELLAR STUDENT
Atlanta Girls’ School’s Platt excels in juggling academics, athletics

Northside Neighbor – Sep 23, 2017 

 

Perhaps the best praise any student could receive is that which comes from a teacher or coach.
 
However, Atlanta Girls’ School senior Julia Platt received such accolades, not just from her coach but her academic advisor. Track coach Stacy Floyd and her academic advisor, Sallie Gray Clayton, described just what type of student-athlete she is.
 
“I wish I had some of Julia’s traits, as it is rare to see such a put-together girl at her age, and I have no doubt that Julia will have a successful college career,” Floyd said.
Clayton said, as Platt’s advisor since the ninth grade, she had seen her grow academically as well as athletically.
 
“She is an incredible and dedicated student-athlete who has learned how to balance an extremely rigorous course load with intense athletic workouts, all the while keeping her health as a top priority,” Clayton said.
 
The 17-year-old daughter of Stuart and Kathryn Platt is carrying a 4.0-grade point average and said she had already applied to 10 institutions of higher learning, including Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and Vanderbilt University.
 
“I don’t know exactly what I want to major in yet, but I am looking at biochemistry, economics, and business, or applied mathematics,” she said.
 
Despite her demanding academic schedule, she still finds time to compete for the varsity swim, volleyball and track and field teams which, with meets and games on the schedule, has her studying at home until well after 11 p.m.
“Studying after our games or meets,” Platt said, “helps me prepare for long study hours in college, where your academic success depends on what you put into your studies. So the more you are accustomed to it, the easier it will be.”
 
This marks the seventh year Platt has attended the Atlanta Girls’ School, and she said one of the main reasons she continued her college preparatory education there was the school’s teachers caring about their students and wanting them to learn “and not just memorizing facts, dates, and formulas,” Platt said.
 
“Our teachers have us, as students, involved in the learning process, and not just lectured to,” she said. “And I don’t know one girl here who doesn’t believe that her teachers really care about her and her academic progress and understanding.”
 
In her limited free time, Platt enjoys “hanging out” with friends but still keeps her track and field activities up, even off campus, as she is a member of a pole vaulting team and also ran a half-marathon last year.