Don’t be fooled by Elizabeth Yao’s poor attendance record: her contributions to Zephyrus have been invaluable. After joining as a freshman, she served as News section editor her junior year; as Online Manager her senior year, she bravely wrestled with demons (the website) every day.
Elizabeth cites Zephyrus as the core of her high school experience. “More than anything else, Zephyrus gave me connections to people across the school,” she said. “[My favorite memory] was the trip to Philadelphia. It was the first time I’d gone on a school trip, and it made me wish I had gone on more.”
“I’ve been here my entire high school experience,” Elizabeth said. “I had a little table with all the other freshmen my first year, and now we’re all grown up… it’s kind of bittersweet.”
Her time on Zephyrus has been especially important to her because Elizabeth was a full-time PSEO student for her years as an upperclassman. “[I’m] essentially a college student who moonlights as a student journalist,” she said. “[Zephyrus] is the only reason I step foot in Edina High School… Outside of staff, the only high schoolers I speak to are kids who also do PSEO.”
Aside from attending lectures, Elizabeth likes to hang out with her dog and do “nothing.” As an avid phone-scroller, she’d like to note that she watched “Family Guy” before the engagement farmers put it on split screen with Subway Surfers. “I’d like to hang out with Stewie. I feel like he’s always got something going on, and I have to respect that hustle,” she said.
If she had a superpower, it would be telekinesis. “I’m just too lazy to get up sometimes,” she said. “It would make my life significantly easier, I think.”
Even though she started experiencing college life well before actually enrolling, Elizabeth is excited to study biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota next fall. “I’m excited to be at college full-time,” she said. “Sometimes I drive over for [Zephyrus] after going to all my actual college classes, and I’m like, ‘Back in the slammer!’”
Even if she likens us to a prison, the staff of Zephyrus will lament the loss of our favorite Missing-In-Action writer.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 20, 2025
