BY KARISSA MILLER

Statesville High School International Baccalaureate (IB) student Jaziya Mull, 17, has an infectious positivity and is well known on campus. She’s been making positive impressions at the school since she arrived in ninth grade.

While walking the halls of the high school this year, many of her teachers and classmates who passed by her took a moment to be a part of the photography project that Mull did for her International Baccalaureate personal project.

Through her work, Mull hoped to illustrate “how Statesville High is on the inside versus how we are perceived by people who don’t go here and have never stepped foot in the school,” she said.

Her goal was to help change the negative narrative.

“I’m really big on perspectives. I love seeing different people’s perspectives. Hearing about my school from other people’s perspective who don’t go here, I wanted to change that because it’s always typically bad,” Mull explained.

She borrowed a camera from the yearbook staff and learned how to use it. Then she started taking photos daily and documenting moments at SHS. The school community really embraced her project.

“They were really excited. A lot of people really loved this idea. They know how we are looked at by other people. They wanted to show that Statesville is a good school,” Mull said.

Mull also conducted interviews with students, teachers and staff. She is working on turning it into a collage that she can present to Iredell-Statesville Schools Superintendent Jeff James and other school districts.

“Teachers here are really passionate about teaching and studying. Our principal knows every student on a good level,” Mull said. “I learned that the students really enjoy school. It’s not a dreadful thing to come to school. We have a really diverse school. We are all connected in our own ways.”

An eye on the future

Mull said that her journey has been one of growth.

She is a varsity cheerleader, basketball player, a member of Beta Club and a Junior Marshall. She is also taking Mitchell Community College courses and works part time.

“Statesville High has given me endless opportunities, and it is still endless. My dream school is in Florida and it’s more likely for me to get into that school because I’m in IB. I’ve got to meet a lot of great people, important people — I’m really thankful for that,” Mull said.

Because of the supportive environment at Statesville High, Mull has gained confidence and become more outgoing. 

“I moved around houses a lot,” she said. “My sixth-grade year I went to West Iredell Middle. Then it got cut short because of COVID. In seventh grade, I went to Third Creek, but then I moved … I ended up going to East Middle the rest of my seventh-grade year. I didn’t have many friends and didn’t really talk to many people.”

She didn’t qualify for the IB program in middle school. However, just before her freshman year of high school, Mull learned that Statesville offered IB and she knew that she wanted to be a part of the program.

According to IB Coordinator Jill Hartle, while it can be challenging to transition into the IB program in high school if you haven’t been in IB in middle school, it’s manageable.

“IB is not a description of a child. It’s framework for education and learning. It’s a framework for all kids,” Hartle said.

Mull is a living example of how IB can be transformative.

“Jaziya wants to change the face of SHS. She has blossomed into a well-rounded, confident young lady,” she added.

Mull said that being in the IB program requires dedication, strong organizational skills and willingness to engage in challenging coursework. She said her English IB class is one of the hardest classes she’s had. She has an Individual Oral exam, in which she has to discuss a piece of literature and connect it to a contemporary body of work.

“It’s a new thing. With it being so new, I wasn’t so familiar with it. It was sort of hard for me to do something out of the box. There’s not just one answer. It’s a lot of thinking,” Mull said.

Since ninth grade, Mull has worked hard, asked questions and received extra help when needed.

“When I got here, I wasn’t really good at math. The math teachers here are really good. They break things down really well and do it in a creative way. We have a ‘recipe’ and together we ‘bake it,’ ” she said.

Hartle said that the math recipe analogy is a developed curriculum by the teachers at SHS. The math teachers have created other strategies to ensure student success and best outcomes, she added.

Mull quickly realized that she was surrounded by a supportive community. She dove into community service activities and clubs, and through her enthusiasm for new experiences discovered the Teaching as a Profession (TAP), a program that allows SHS students to get hands-on experience in classroom teaching and coursework. 

Through the TAP program, she has discovered that she wants to be a teacher.

“I’m open to elementary, middle or high school. TAP helps with that. We get a choice on what grade we want to do,” she said.

“A lot of people tell me I should be a teacher as well because of how I act. I love teacher energy. It makes me so happy. Teacher energy is those who are enthusiastic as much as possible,” she added.

Mull said that since she was young, she’d never had a strong sense of school community and leadership like what she has found through her time and involvement at Statesville High.

She said that she will continue to promote her school and hopes that her own experiences will help change the narrative.

Photos