Senior Spotlight: Julia Ristow

Senior Spotlight: Julia Ristow
Posted on 04/26/2018
Senior Spotlight: Julia Ristow

Senior Spotlight: Julia Ristow


In honor of the 2018 Farmington High School graduation, we’re highlighting a few (of the many!) of this year’s outstanding graduating class. Today’s Senior Spotlight is: Julia Ristow!


Since freshman year, Julia has stayed active in school activities. Artistic at heart, Julia has been in three school musicals, a teacher’s assistant for Mrs. Cherwinka’s AP Art Studio, and a Choir Officer. She’s also preparing the choreography for the Choir as they approach their end of the year medley. Julia is especially proud of auditioning and being accepted into the 2017-2018 All State Choir.


Julia has also performed well academically. She liked many of her school classes and teachers at FHS. Hand in hand with the amount of time she devotes to the subject, Julia loves Choir with Mrs. Dimich. She also really enjoys Comparative Religions with Mr. Grove and any class with the FHS English faculty, “because they’re all pretty great!”


Farmington has been a good fit for Julia, who says, “I really like the school and all the options we have to personalize our learning. It’s the closest thing to college prep I  think I’ve ever seen a school do.” Something, she says, helped her brother transition his time management into college.


As a new school year approaches, Julia will be attending the University of Northwestern--St. Paul to double major in English (Creative Writing) and Music Performance. She chose the university for its staff members and the campus, which offered her a feeling of belonging. “They were already really invested in me and what I was doing, and were just a really welcoming community.”


Outside of her school day, Julia sings in New Dimension, the after school choir, and with her church worship band. Julia’s passion for theatre also extends beyond school. She takes dance and has been in multiple musical theater productions in the community.


In addition to her creative endeavors, Julia is involved a community outreach program through her church youth group. They provide children in need with activities and homework help during the school year and dinners for the children’s families during the summer.


Advice for incoming seniors:

“Honestly don’t take a bunch of easy classes. If you’re really worried about sliding, take classes that might challenge you, because it’s better to give that last final push before college. Colleges still look at your senior year to see how you were able to tough it out, so honestly showing them that you still retained good grades to the bitter end shows your work ethic and determination, and colleges are looking for those qualities.”


Student reporter Ryan Huling contributed to this article.