Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Jasmine Elmiari

T-shirts often serve as the best way for people to express themselves, and for senior Jasmine Elmiari, one shirt she owns does just that by showing a part of her personality that she has come to embrace.

“IB a Nerd Now, But I’ll Be Your Boss Later,” the shirt reads.

That message sums up the motivation of the nearly 100 students at Capuchino—among them Elmiari—who enrolled and completed the school’s International Baccalaureate, or IB, program in this year’s graduating senior class.

Yes, it’s pompous. But it’s meant to be that way, Elmiari says, to combat the often negative stereotype placed on students who choose excelling academically in school over being the most popular kid on campus.

Now, Elmiari, 18, will be taking her nerdiness all the way to the bank as she graduates from Capuchino on Friday as the school’s valedictorian with a 4.3 grade point average.

Don’t get it twisted, though. While she has focused much of her time on her academics up to this point, she doesn’t spend all her time buried in the books.

“I don’t think I’m a complete nerd,” she said. “I think there are a lot more facets to anyone’s personality than just being a nerd or a jock or whatever. Like in order to be a person who’s fit to go to college you have to be well rounded, you have to be able to play sports, be smart in school, volunteer, have good friends, have good social connections. I think forming all that is important.”

Looking back, she says she would have liked to get involved in more extracurricular activities while in high school. But, in retrospect, she has pretty much done it all. Starting in her sophomore year, she got a chance to play tennis. This semester, she joined the track team for the first time, participating in the long jump, high jump and discus competitions.

She also works on the weekends as a tutor at and has for the last two years been a member of the San Mateo County Youth Commission, where she gets to advise county officials on youth issues throughout the area.

All of those activities have been part of the effort she has been making since she started at Capuchino not only to build up her resume but also to build up herself for the next stage in life.

Much more than the nerdiness, she has embraced what her parents have always stressed: the eventual payoff of staying disciplined at a young age so that she could reap the benefits later in life.

“My parents are always saying, ‘See, Jasmine, it’s finally paying off. You’re getting all these awards, sashes and getting into all these prestigious schools,’” she said. “So I know I’m working for the long run.”

In the fall, she’ll be using that work ethic to get through college when she starts at UC Berkeley. She’s interested in studying something in the medical field and possibly becoming a pharmacist so that she can help people and make enough money to support her family, especially her younger brother, who has autism.

As her teachers and peers agree, Elmiari’s drive is much more than just about being a nerd. It’s about embracing a desire to really be successful in life—whatever it takes.

“Jasmine breaks the mold of a student who is just an academic person,” her school counselor, Kevin Thomas, said in one of her letters of recommendation. “She is truly a gifted student in action who uses her keen and gentle—but deep—style to make her community a better place.”