By Kristine Thomas
Some of them are perfectionists. The majority are procrastinators.
Some are quiet and some eager to speak. The areas they plan to major in college vary from film studies to Biblical studies and engineering to premed.
Some struggle with the question “What career do you want?” Others have created a road map to get them where they want to go next.
The activities they have participated in vary as much as they do – from dance to robotics and drama to athletics.
What they share in common is they are high-achievers, expecting nothing less than the best from themselves.
On the morning of June 10 – several hours before they walked across the stage to receive their high school diploma, Silverton High School’s eight valedictorians (4.0 GPA) and four salutatorians (3.97 GPA) meet to share a little about themselves and what motivated them to do well in school.
The valedictorians and the college they plan to attend are: Alanna Henry, Northwestern University; Nicole Kuenzi, Chemeketa Community College; David Larson, University of Washington; Dylan Pickford, Rice University; Angela Rofelty, George Fox University; Joel Senecal, Whitman College; Clarissa Smith, Multnomah University; and Justin Thomas, Willamette University.
The salutatorians and the college they plan to attend are: Emma Bochsler, Oregon State University; Lindsey Kariker, Corban University; Kristi Schurter, Chemeketa Community College and Hannah Vachter, University of Portland.
Despite displaying some signs of senioritis – there was a few groans when asked to fill out a questionnaire – the students answered some questions before they had to rush off for graduation practice last week.
What motivated you?
While the reasons they strived to earn good grades varied, the one answer they all had in common is believing good grades were essential in allowing them to achieve their post-high school goals.
Vachter knew a lot was expected of her and she wanted to have all “my options open to me as a graduate. It bugs me to slack off and get crappy grades when I know I can do better.”
Henry was motivated to get good grades by “some weird idealistic notions I developed long ago about the importance of grades.” Kuenzi wanted to get the highest grades she could. Pickford never wanted to miss out on any opportunity. Thomas doesn’t like knowing “other people are better than me.”
“The importance of education has been drilled into me since forever so I felt that good grades correlated with a good education,” Bochsler said.
Larson was motivated to earn straight A’s because of his “desire to utilize my talents and make an impact on this world.”
Was it a challenge?
College writing, balancing academics with extracurricular activities, college Spanish, calculus and AP government class were listed as reasons earning a 4.0 was a challenge for some of the some of the eight valedictorians. Pickford said getting a 4.0 grade point average required consistent dedication.
There were a couple classes that almost dragged his grade point average down, Senecal said “but being a geek is pretty easy when you’ve been doing it all your life.”
Five-year plan
Eleven out of the 12 honor students stated after they complete their bachelor’s degree that they plan to earn a post-graduate degree.
Kariker plans to study to be a physician’s assistant. In five years, Smith sees herself either working in a foreign country, earning her master’s degree in teaching English as a Second Language or happily married and preparing to go to a foreign country.
Rofelty hopes to be in medical school in five years and Larson wants to earn first a master’s degree, than a doctorate degree in mechanical engineering.
Senecal wrote he’ll probably be in graduate school or “burnt out writing social commentary from my hut in the woods.”
Thomas sees himself in film school in Southern California with “some sort of exotic bird sitting on my shoulder.”
A few last words
Glancing down the cafeteria table first one way and then the other, Bochsler sees hope for the future when she looks at her peers.
“We all have so much to give and we all want to make a difference,” she said.
Thomas said he believes each generation becomes more prepared to tackle the world’s challenges.
Looking at her peers, Smith said they are all leaders – whether it is in their church or school.
“All these people are really good at what they do,” she said.
Henry said some people talk while others lead through example.
“I hope I live my life in a way that I show other people who I am and that I can teach other people something,” she said.
She also said it’s OK to leave high school not knowing what you want to do.
“In high school, I found a decreasing centric circle leading me to discover what I don’t want to be,” she said.
“High school is just a fragment of life.”
“People expect us to know what we want to do next for a career,” Bochsler said. “Not knowing is an OK answer.”
Rofelty refuses to believe the saying that high school is the best time of a person’s life.
“I think my life is just beginning,” she said. “I am excited for what is going to happen next.”
When David Larson was in third grade, he saw a poster reading, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.”
His goal was to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He earned a 4.0 in high school, received perfect scores on the math and critical reading sections of the SAT and earned a 740 out of 800 on the writing. After being waited listed at MIT, he recently learned he didn’t get in.
“I got as close as possible to what I wanted but it didn’t work out,” he said. “Whatever I did, I always did the best I could. Going to the University of Washington will be great and I can always go to MIT for grad school.”
Kariker’s advice is to always give your best to what you do. “If you do that, you are not going to fail,” she said.
