“[Isabelle] is an individual who loves learning and has fun in that process,” journalism teacher, debate coach and STAR teacher Mario Herrera said. “She has a very inquisitive mind and perhaps her biggest strength is pursuing answers to questions.”

Taft’s many triumphs have been ascribed to her sheer drive and intelligence.

“If she’s going to express an interest in something, whether academic or some strange obsession with General Sherman, she goes 100 percent,” senior Sammi Dean said.

Similarly, once Taft has her mind on something, there is nothing stopping her. Her goal-oriented nature has attracted her to activities like cross-country and has been a large part of her success, she said.

“I think the really cool thing about running is that if you set a goal for yourself and then create a realistic plan for how to achieve that goal, you can do it,” Taft said.

Taft’s mother and media center specialist Lisa Taft said that she and her husband never had expectations or requirements for Taft to do so well and just wanted her to find something she is passionate about. They fostered a desire to learn and succeed in Taft, however, from an early age. She started reading The New York Times in the sixth grade and strived to win competitions like the spelling and geography bees in elementary school and middle school, respectively.

“We basically just stand back and scratch our heads because she’s always been very, very self-motivated,” Taft said. “We just provide the logistical support by driving her around.”

In accordance to her mother’s wishes of working towards her interests and passions, during her four years on the debate team, she has won six state titles (a precedent in state history), second place at the 2013 Harvard Tournament, seventh at the National Forensic League Tournament, third place at the National Catholic Forensic League Tournament, second at the Montgomery Bell Academy Southern Bell Forum, first at the Wake Forest University Tournament and first at the George Mason University Tournament, to name just a few. She participates in extemporaneous speaking, an event in which the speaker gets 30 minutes to write and memorize a seven-minute speech that answers a particular question about international or domestic policies.

“She knows so much about the world and yet she’s also still a teenager, and I never in my 20 years as a coach have had an individual who is able to balance a thing like that,” Herrera said. “It’s a remarkable thing to witness.”

Taft is often seen around school printing out articles to highlight them for debate. She is also known for her help in organizing a debate tournament hosted by Grady in her capacity as president of the speech and debate team this year.

“She is in her very nature a leader,” Herrera said. “She does not demand respect; she gets it because of who she is.”

Taft said one of the most rewarding parts of being on the debate team was serving as a role model for the underclassmen, particularly in her own event. Sophomore Ben Simonds-Malamud said he is lucky to have worked with one of the most decorated high school speakers in the nation.

Her curious nature about the world and leadership abilities are also exemplified by her involvement in The Southerner, during which she reported on stories about freshman hazing, the impact of CRCT cheating, the murder of an alumnus and the political affiliations of the student body and the implementation of SLCs

“[My favorite part of Southerner] was gradually uncovering the nuances of a story when reporting on it,” Taft said.

She was named both Junior and Senior Champion Journalist of the Year and    won multiple awards for her news stories from the Georgia Scholastic Press Association and other organizations.

When she isn’t winning national debate titles or reporting the newest groundbreaking event, Taft likes to eat ethnic foods, really all types of food, experiment with cooking microwaveable food with her younger brother Will and work it all off by running on her own.

Not surprisingly, Taft has become a source of inspiration for many of her friends and for Will.

“Sometimes people expect a certain amount from me before they’ve really met me or they assume a lot of things, which can be good or bad,” Will Taft said.  “I kind of like having that because it’s something to look up to, and I feel like I’ll end up better as long as I’m trying to emulate her.”

In spite of all that she has accomplished, Taft’s friends and family overwhelmingly concluded that she remains humble. In fact, Taft said she would attribute all of her success thus far to “luck and having a planner.”

“When you’re leaps and bounds smarter than most of the people in your class including your close peers, for a lot of people that can go to their head, but Isabelle is never like that,” senior Lucy Bradley said.

Taft has decided she will attend Yale College in the fall.

“I don’t think there’s ever an endpoint for her,” Lisa Taft said.