From Rome, GA City Schools media releases:
Working hard and persisting during her high school journey paid dividends for Rome High senior Karly Nguyen. Nguyen was recently named Rome High School’s STAR Student for the Class of 2025.
“To be STAR student, honestly, it’s not always about the test score. But it’s always about the journey of getting there, meaning just hard work and persistence. Because sometimes it just feels like you want to give up and you don’t want to keep studying,” Nguyen said. “It’s so important to just keep going forward. That’s how I did it.”
Nguyen is the daughter of Dung and Tein Ngyuen.
Nguyen has a 4.518 grade point average. She is an AP Scholar with Distinction, an AP Capstone Diploma Recipient, a National Merit Semifinalist, and earned The College Board’s National First Generation Recognition.
She has been on the Academic Honor Roll all four years and has earned the Georgia Certificate of Merit, the Freshman Wolf Award, has been named a Young Georgia Writers winner, a Laws of Life Essay winner, and a Governor’s Honors nominee. She has taken 13 AP classes, one dual enrollment class, and completed two Fine Arts Pathways in Chorus and Visual Arts.
Along with her academic honors, Nguyen has been very active at Rome High School. She sings alto in the Rome High Chorale and has been named to the District Honor Choir. She is involved in the BEAR Club, Interact Club, 21st Century Leaders, National Honor Society, Junior Civitan Club, Psychology Club, and is a DECA member. She was also part of the robotics team.
Nguyen also has spent time volunteering at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and her parent’s nail salon.
Nguyen selected Seth Winstead as her STAR Teacher.
“I had Mr. Winstead in my junior year. He encourages his students and keeps them motivated. Not everybody’s going to succeed at U.S. History. It’s not an easy subject and to do well in his class and to do the AP class is obviously no easy walk in the park. But he stays with you every step of the way. He’s always there to answer any questions you need and he’s extremely passionate about what he does,” Nguyen said. “It was very clear for me to select him as my star teacher just from how amazing his teaching is.”
Nguyen plans to attend the University of Georgia where she has already been accepted into the school’s Double Dawgs Program. She plans to major in art and is still deciding what her second major will be.
“I’ve already applied to UGA, and I got my acceptance last year. I’m planning to enroll there and major in art and possibly also double major in another subject. I do want to participate in the Double Dawgs program,” she said. “Essentially, it’s what they call their double major program. So basically, you’ll get your first degree in the first four years, and then in the fifth year, you’ll get your second.”
Nguyen said she wants to major in art for one of her majors, and then focus on how technology could affect creativity.
“I want to dive into how AI impacts creative spaces. So maybe doing some research or some activism in that aspect. But for now, I want to open up my waters and just see where it takes me,” she said.
A historical dating game where students represented prominent figures from United States history and interacted with each other to see which ones would most likely get along is just one of many ways Rome High School teacher Seth Winstead helps bring history to life for his students.
Winstead’s ability to do that and really interact and help his students learn is one of the many reasons STAR Student Karly Nguyen selected him as her STAR Teacher.
During Rome High’s recent ceremony where they unveiled the STAR Student and Teacher along with the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for the Class of 2025, all three students mentioned Winstead as a big influence on them.
“Being named STAR Teacher is really the greatest honor I can imagine. I could talk all day long about my students. So to have one of them single me out is amazing. I get goosebumps when I think about it. It’s just an incredible honor,” he said.
When asked what it meant to have all three students mention him as one of their favorite teachers, those goosebumps probably got a bit bigger.
“It means a lot. It really does blow me away. I talk all day and I’m usually good at faking being good with words, but this really leaves me speechless. It really means a lot to me,” he said.
Winstead has been teaching for 14 years. A graduate of Toccoa Falls College, Winstead came to Rome High School in 2019 as a part of the social studies department.
Winstead currently teaches AP U.S. History and AP Comparative Government and has taught a wide range of social studies courses. He and his wife, Julie, and their four sons returned to Rome in 2019.
When asked about the historical dating game, Winstead smiles and that’s when the history teacher takes over.
“I think the goal is to create a deeper understanding of history. We don’t have to relive it. But if we can empathize with historical figures and learn to interact with the past, I think it helps us to be able to interact with one another more with our current situations,” he said. “So it’s really just anything to make learning come alive and hopefully to encourage students to become lifelong learners.”
