TRUCKEE and#8212; After serving as her school’s student body president, Truckee High School valedictorian Miss Silva is on to the University of California, Berkeley, next year to learn a little more about politics as a political science major with a focus on international relations.

Silva said she became interested in international relations after spending six months on foreign exchange in Austria.

The Sun was able to speak with Silva this week about her time at Truckee High and her future.

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Sun: You’re obviously a good student, but what courses were most difficult for you in high school?

Miss Silva: Definitely math. Calculus was probably the hardest subject for me. Also A.P. Chemistry and A.P. U.S. History were challenging, but I was lucky to have such good teachers in Ms. (Susan) Lowder and Mr. (Larry) Leatherman.

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Sun: Tell us a little about your address at graduation, have you put much thought into it ahead of time?

Miss: I have. I wrote it and gave it to one of my friends to look over. I’m really excited about this one because I have family coming up and they don’t know I’m speaking. I’m trying to make the speech a little something for everyone, moreso than a typical essay, I want to show everyone the excitement our class has.

Sun: Talk about Berkeley as your college choice? Was it the clear favorite or did it come down to Cal and a few other schools?

Miss: It came down to UCLA and Berkeley. A day or two before the deadline I made my decision, I just really like the atmosphere at Berkeley, I felt I just clicked there. I like the intellectual environment, and my brother goes there so I’ve visited over the last couple years.

Sun: Miss, you’ve been involved in extracurriculars (California Scholarship Federation, Teen Advocates, soccer) throughout high school, how do you balance a life and the books? No sleep?

Miss: No sleep is right! You just have to find a balance and know there’s no problem with playing hard if you’re going to work hard. My brother and parents were able to give me a lot of help. I never really had being valedictorian in mind, basically I just focused on setting distractions aside. I wouldn’t say you have to be the smartest student to earn valedictorian and#8212; I wouldn’t put myself in that category and#8212; you just have to be willing to work hard and the teachers here are more than willing to help you.