Small School. Big Opportunities. Aliya’s Forest Ridge Story

When you walk the halls of Forest Ridge, you quickly realize that “small school” doesn’t mean “small experience.” For students like Aliya, Class of 2026, it means the opposite; a place where possibilities multiply because everyone knows who you are, what inspires you, and how to help you grow. 

Aliya has been part of the Forest Ridge community since sixth grade. Now a senior, she’s proof that a small school can offer both depth and breadth. It can offer rigorous academics, meaningful leadership, and the freedom to explore passions that stretch across disciplines. 

At Forest Ridge, Aliya has experienced a curriculum as individual as she is. This year alone, she has already taken courses like French V, Ecology, Principles of Calculus, Media Literacy, and Advanced Ceramics, showcasing a mix that reflects both intellectual challenge and creative expression. In Ecology, she’s dissected mussels and learned to recognize bird calls by sound. In Ceramics, she built a matcha shelf by hand. Every course is designed to connect knowledge with the real world, and every teacher knows her well enough to help her connect it back to herself. 

Through her Advanced Integrated Studies (AIS) project, Aliya is exploring The Fluctuation of Feminism: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Girls and the Color Pink. Her research examines how young girls’ perceptions of the color pink change with shifts in feminism and culture, culminating in an eight-page paper, a public presentation, and a creative scrapbook of her findings. It’s the kind of project that could only happen at a school that values independent thinking and trust: giving students both freedom and mentorship to turn curiosity into scholarship. 

Through the Global Citizenship Endorsement Pathway, Aliya has found powerful ways to connect intellect and purpose. Her work bridges local and global communities, tutoring refugees in English, volunteering at her place of worship, and shadowing a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente in Bellevue to explore how compassion intersects with medicine. Most notably, she has formed a partnership between Seattle Children’s Hospital and Coast General Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya, delivering postpartum supplies from Seattle to support mothers abroad. With sponsorships from local companies, Aliya has expanded this initiative into a sustainable collaboration that reflects her belief that leadership means using knowledge and empathy to improve lives, wherever they are needed most. 

Beyond academics, Aliya’s leadership is woven across every corner of Forest Ridge life. This is a reflection of how deeply she believes in community, inclusion, and purpose. As a Student Body Officer, Varsity Volleyball Captain, and Co-Director of the Student Athletic Leadership Team, Aliya leads with integrity and enthusiasm, strengthening school spirit and ensuring every student feels part of something larger than themselves. As the founder of the Muslim Student Association, she created a space where students of all faiths can learn from one another, ask questions, and celebrate shared values, thus, modeling the kind of interfaith understanding and respect our world urgently needs. Through these roles, Aliya shows that leadership isn’t about titles or recognition; it’s about seeing a need, stepping forward, and building community in ways that make others feel seen and supported. 

Aliya recognizes that at Forest Ridge, she never has to choose between her passions. Instead, she can pursue them all and still be deeply known. Here, being part of a small school doesn’t limit opportunity; it multiplies it. Because every student is seen, their interests are nurtured, and their voices matter, there truly are no sidelines. Whether leading an assembly, captaining a team, or founding a new club, students like Aliya are encouraged to take risks, explore new roles, and shape the life of the community around them. It’s this combination of belonging and possibility that defines the Forest Ridge experience: a place where each girl can play, lead, create, and make a visible, lasting impact. 

From science labs to service projects, from the court to the ceramics studio, Aliya’s journey reflects the essence of a Forest Ridge education: small enough to know every student deeply, big enough to prepare them for any path ahead. 

At Forest Ridge, students don’t have to choose between rigor and joy, depth and discovery, or leadership and belonging. Like Aliya, they get to experience it all, because when a school truly knows you, your opportunities expand beyond measure.