Introduction

Hello! We are a team of student filmmakers from Cornell University studying Performing and Media Arts. We are currently fundraising for the honors thesis project "Top of My School."

Written and directed by award-winning student filmmaker Katherine Lynn-Rose, "Top of My School" is a short film that follows an ambitious high school student's obsession with winning the student council election. 

About the Film

"Top of My School" is a musical film that follows Bree, a high-achieving high school senior trapped between her immigrant parents’ expectations and her own quest for validation. Bree's world is turned upside down when Avery, a quiet and overlooked classmate, enters the race for student council president. As Bree’s obsession with winning drives her to sabotage Avery’s campaign, she unexpectedly discovers a genuine connection with her rival. Yet, when Bree's ambition pushes her to a chilling extreme, the price of success becomes horrifyingly clear. "Top of My School" explores themes of ambition, sacrifice, and the never-ending quest for validation, delivering an unsettling story about the price of success and the true meaning of love.

Funds & Budgeting

We are hoping to raise $3,000 to cover major production and distribution costs. Funds raised will go towards:

• Talent fees
• Craft services
• Location fees
• Costumes
• Props and set items
• Film festival distribution

A Note From the Director

Growing up as a child of immigrants in a predominantly white town, I was thrust into the role of the tryhard goody two shoes before I even knew what it meant. My parents sacrificed everything, leaving their entire lives behind in China just so I could be born. This immense sacrifice carried with it a weight of expectations, not just from them but also from my peers and, ultimately, from myself. I was expected to embody a certain idea of success—a model minority who excelled academically and lived up to the high standards already set for me. So, I became that person, driven by the belief that if I didn’t succeed, then everything my parents gave up would be for nothing.

"Top of My School" is a cautionary tale born out of these experiences. It is a story that contests the model minority stereotype from within, through a character so consumed by the need to be the best that she is willing to do whatever it takes. In Bree, I wanted to capture the dark side of ambition, where striving for success turns into something horrifying. 

As conversations about race, privilege, and opportunity continue to shift, Bree’s struggles as a Chinese-American student under immense pressure to succeed feel especially relevant. For Bree, the model minority myth is both a shield and a burden. It allows her to blend into a world that values achievement but demands that she suppress her individuality to meet its standards. Bree’s unraveling challenges the audience to reconsider the narratives we impose on others and the unseen damage those narratives can cause.

Additionally, "Top of My School" highlights the intricate dynamics of Chinese immigrant families, where love and pressure can coexist in deeply complicated ways. Rooted in the Chinese value of filial piety—a deep respect for and duty to one’s parents—this pressure often manifests in the expectation that children will repay their parents’ sacrifices by achieving extraordinary success. The film invites audiences to empathize with both Bree’s struggle to assert her individuality and her parents’ desire to see their dreams realized through her. 

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