When Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, celebrates nearly 900 degree recipients this Saturday, a West Seattleite will be front and center as undergraduate valedictorian. Charli Elliott is a West Seattle High School graduate and played on the WSHS basketball team that made a historic trip to state, coached by her mom Sonya Elliott. From the school’s online profile:

Elliott majored in creative writing and played on Pacific’s varsity women’s basketball team. As she graduates this month, she will have the beginnings of a novel, polished by workshops and mentoring, which she can use to apply to graduate schools or writing residencies.

But her immediate priority, she says, is to improve her fluency in Chinese, preferably by teaching English in Taiwan. She plans to sharpen her language skills while earning some money and traveling the region — all while continuing to write.

While overseas, she said, she plans “to use the beautiful setting of Taiwan as inspiration for further work.”