Senior Mahika Talaulicar participates in a handful of rigorous classes and extracurriculars. Mock Trial is an afterschool club that focuses on teaching students the processes of a court case. Talaulicar is the president of Mock Trial, and she has been active in the club for over two years.

Q: What classes do you take, and which ones do you like the most?

A: I take AP Statistics, AP Chemistry, Calculus BC, AP Literature, AP Government, Reasoning and Rhetoric, Band, and I have a study hall block. I really love AP Literature. I think it’s one of the best classes I’ve taken because I get to read books, analyze them with people, [and then] discuss them. Right now, we’re doing book clubs and reading Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. It’s very good.

Q: What instrument do you play, and how much time do you spend on band?

A: I’m a percussionist. In theory, I play all the percussion instruments, like drums [and] mallets. But, I usually stick to mallets. With all the practicing in that tournament as well, [it’s] a lot of time, because every week we have three to four rehearsals after school. That’s about two and a half to three hours per day. Except for maybe one day [a week.] And then there are games, so that takes a good portion out. Then competitions generally take up most of the day, so I just [spend] a lot of time [on band].

Q: How much free time would you say you have regularly? What hobbies do you use your free time for, and what other hobbies do you wish you could spend more time on? 

A: A few hours a day. I mean, it depends on whether you factor in homework or not. With homework, I’d say maybe a couple hours. It’s just because I tend to procrastinate. So it becomes free time. I like reading [and] playing the piano. Sometimes, I like [to do] random stuff [and] go on random rabbit holes of information. I like art, so I wish I could spend more time on it on a daily basis.

Q: What colleges are you applying to, and how much time do your college applications take?

A: I’m applying to mostly in-state colleges like VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University), JMU (James Madison University), UVA (University of Virginia), [Virginia] Tech, [and some] out-of-state [colleges]. As of November 1st, I’ve submitted most of [my college applications]. But it’s hard to give an estimate, because it kind of depends on the week and how much schoolwork [I have]. But, a good portion of [my] weekends [is] spent writing essays and filling out information in the Common App.

Q: How do you balance everything that you do?

A: It gets really challenging, honestly. There are times where you have to sacrifice something that [is] maybe less important or less difficult. Sometimes you have to stay up and do work and study. But, I feel like I could also accomplish it better if I didn’t procrastinate. But since I do, I have to end up staying late to finish it all. Since I generally enjoy a lot of the things, it gets easier to manage.

Q: How did you find out about Mock Trial?

A: When I was a sophomore, I remember one of my band friends, a percussionist, was the president of Mock Trial, so he was like, ‘Hey, come to the [club expo] and check it out.’ So during the club expo, I was looking at the mock trial trifold, and it was very interesting, so I was like, ‘why not join?’

Q: What is Mock Trial about, and why did you want to become the president of the club?

A: Mock trial is a club where we simulate court cases. [Virginia Law-Related Education Institute] gives us a [fake] court case, [and] you put together your case with lawyers and witnesses. Then, you ‘perform [the case]’. Not exactly, but [you testify] and compete against other schools. The first year I was just a normal member. The next year, I applied for the position of witness captain. After that, I would [have been] the person who’d been there the longest. I figured I did want to make a bigger impact on the club, so, I applied for president.

Q: What advice do you have to give to your peers?

A: I’d say first prioritize clubs and extracurriculars that you actually want to do rather than trying to sound impressive on [a] resume. I mean, to some extent, it will help you, but it’s really hard to manage everything if you don’t actually have the passion for it. I’d say the same thing for classes – if you enjoy having a rigorous course load and you actually want to take some of these classes, then I’m sure you can manage all the work [in] between. So, I [would say to] just do what you want to do, not just because you want to sound better on college application.

Q: Would you rather live 200 years in the future or 200 years in the past?

A: That’s a tough one, because I don’t know if I want to know what the future is [like] in 200 years. At the same time, it’s a long time in the past. Maybe past since I know what to expect. 

Q: Anything else you would like to share?

A: Join Mock Trial.