Senior Spotlight: Grace Khoshaba

As the second semester of the school year is on its feet, the class of 2023 reflects on their last four years here at Niles West. For senior Grace Khoshaba, looking back at her most memorable and significant moments during her time here comes with ease. Right before her freshman year, Khoshaba had already seeked interest in several extracurriculars. “Prior to enrolling, I was already aware of the extracurriculars I would partake in. Before we were unexpectedly hit by a pandemic, I played volleyball my freshman year and was a member of the Assyrian club. Currently, I am no longer involved in volleyball, but I was given the title as the Vice President of the Assyrian club,” Khoshaba said.  

Khoshaba is proud to have been a part of setting a class for Assyrian language and culture in motion. “After seven years of board meetings and discussions, the students and staff  from West and North have made it possible for students at both schools to take an Assyrian language class. It’s extremely exciting to see the progress this school has made with inclusion and even more exciting to know that the upcoming classes will be able to partake in the class,” Khoshaba said. 

The rush of excitement and pride is seen as Khoshaba and her peers look forward to this new opportunity. “The Assyrian’s here at West are a part of the highest population of a minority group at this school. It’s so exciting to see us and even students of various other races and ethnicities come together and bond with one another. Seeing the Assyrian culture being magnified and everyone discussing the history and significance of our people has been incredible,” Khoshaba said. 

Being a part of clubs and activities as well as holding a prominent role calls for meeting new people. Assyrian Club President, Gabriel Daoud enjoys his time leading the club along with Khoshaba. “Having Grace as my Vice President for Assyrian club leadership has been such a wonderful experience thus far. She is an open communicator and a great listener who helps contribute to making Assyrian club the best space it can be for our members! She was right next to me when delivering my speech to the board of education in favor of the Assyrian language and culture course. I am very thankful to have a vice president like Grace and I look forward to seeing what she does next in the near future,” Daoud said.

Even though the pandemic brought its ups and downs during Khoshaba’s freshman year, Khoshaba is able to recognize the moments that made her high school experience special. “Something I am most proud of is making it to the finish line, high school wise. Not only I, but tons of us students here at West have been through numerous traumatic experiences throughout this pandemic. I’ve been openly honest with my peers about the struggles and obstacles I have faced. I came forward to the school for help, while still being involved and challenging myself day after day,” Khoshaba said. 

As the end of the year gets closer, Khoshaba is pleased to feel stress being lifted off her shoulders. “The excitement of going to college is indescribable, I’m beyond grateful,” Khoshaba said. With college just around the corner, Khoshaba begins to brainstorm what she sees for herself in her near future. “After high school I will be attending a university to pursue political science. The college I will be attending is undecided, because I still have not received all my responses yet. I’ve established the fact that I’ve always been interested in American/international politics and law, after looking more into world problems and being more attentive in history class,” Khoshaba said. 

Not only does Khoshaba find interest in politics and law, but she also finds a more specific interest in the child custody field of law. “There’s a significant amount of information that I would love to retain during my undergraduate years. I hope to attend law school after obtaining my Bachelor’s degree. I would like to be in the child custody field of law, it’s always been an interest of mine. I’d love to be an advocate for many families and children’s lives,” Khoshaba said. 

Thinking back to her freshman year and comprehending how quick four years goes by, Khoshaba reflects back on her freshman year. “The feeling of being the youngest in the school had its ups and downs, but we looked at the upperclassmen like they were our older siblings. Everyone conversed with one another and friendships were built between all grade levels. After the pandemic, being able to start conversations with one another was difficult. Masks and social distancing had a major impact on every student’s social life,” Khoshaba said.

Though the pandemic brought hardships for everyone, Khoshaba as well as the entire class of 2023 had their high school experiences affected by the horrifying pandemic. The phrase “four years flies by” couldn’t be more true for Khoshaba and her senior class. “It’s hard to accept that fact that now I am no longer the helpless freshman and now I’m the role model for our underclassmen here at Niles West,” Khoshaba said. 

Outside of Niles West, Khoshaba enjoys spending her time with her family and friends as well as being social. Khoshaba also likes to keep herself in good shape. “During my free time I love to be active. I’ve been employed at Lifetime Fitness for almost two years, which has benefited me with a free membership. This has given me the opportunity to stay healthy and in shape. I usually workout everyday after school, Assyrian club, or work. I extremely enjoy spending time with my cousins, who love to tag along to the gym with me as well. Being around my family members when working out has motivated me to push myself even more,” Khoshaba said. 

Through work, Khoshaba has established new friendships, including her friendship with senior Natalia Garcia. “I met Grace at work around mid-March of 2022. We instantly became best friends at work and which eventually lead to us spending time hanging outside of just work. I never saw her at school because of our different schedules, so I always looked forward to working our 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. shifts at Lifetime. As we got closer during the summer spending almost everyday together I soon realized that Grace and I are like the same person just different fonts, I felt like she became like my older sister that I never had,” Garcia said.

It is no doubt that Khoshaba not only brings positive energy to Niles West, but everywhere she goes. Many view Khoshaba as a role model and someone who is extremely dedicated to everything they do.

“Grace has taught me many things, she as a person is always outgoing, confident, cordial, helpful and many more things. I look up to Grace because she is always being herself no matter what people say or think about her. I am so happy to have met such an amazing person like Grace and I can’t wait what the future has in store for her,” Garcia said.