By Adriana Moreno, staff writer
Abby Greer (Valedictorian)
1. How did you stay so focused through high school? “Coffee and the motivation to succeed.”
2. Who helped you meet your goals? “All of my teachers, counselors, and fellow students.”
3. Do you feel accomplished? “I will not feel accomplished until I have reached all of my goals.”
4. What were your most and least favorite subjects? “Favorite is AP Calculus, least is AP Physics”
5. How does your family feel about you being valedictorian? “They are very proud of me and excited for me.”
6.What advice would you suggest for people who would like to get better grades? “I would say that you control your future and your education is what you get out of it.”
7.What are your future plans? Further education? “I will be attending Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania majoring in International Politics.”
8.What career do you see yourself in? “I hope to work for the CIA as some sort of analyst or foreign service related position.”
9.What’s your favorite high school memory? “Being conductor at Madrigal feaste or performing at the International Thespian Festival.”
Sameer Alam (Salutatorians)
1. How did you stay so focused all through high school? “I stayed focused throughout high school by focusing and prioritizing school over other things.”
2. Who helped you meet your goals? “My parents and also my teachers helped me achieve my goals.”
3. Do you feel accomplished? “I feel somewhat accomplished as I learned many new things.”
4. What were your most and least favorite subjects? My most favorite subject is Human Anatomy and Physiology while my least favorite is U.S Government and Politics.”
5. How does your family feel about you being salutatorian? “My family feels proud.”
6. What advice would you suggest for people who would like to get better grades? “If you want better grades, I suggest you should get help from your teachers and from your friends. If that isn’t possible use resources such as Khan Academy or maybe read through the textbook for the specific class.
7. What are your future plans? Further education? “My future plans include pursuing an electrical engineering degree at UW-Madison.”
8. What career do you see yourself in? “I see myself working as an electrical engineer in the tech industry.”
9. What’s your favorite high school memory? “My favorite high school memory is of the Medical Sciences Academy Expo my junior year as I was able to teach others about what I had learned that year in anatomy.”
Shyam Mehta (Valedictorian)
1. How did you stay so focused all through high school? “The question for me wasn’t whether it was hard to focus. It was where my focus was. I’d love to say that I had lazer sharp focus on studies all 4 years. The truth is that sometimes I had to let go of the gas pedal and focus on sports, friends, and video games.”
2. Who helped you meet your goals? “I had tremendous help from all my teachers. I am especially thankful to Mrs. Baskaran, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Walton, Laoshi, Mrs. Phillips, Mr. Metzler, and Mr. Jager.”
3. Do you feel accomplished? “Yes.”
4. What were your most and least favorite subjects? “History never really interested me.”
5. How does your family feel about you being valedictorian? “They are happy and proud.”
6. What advice would you suggest for people who would like to get better grades? “Get enough sleep and stay awake in class. It’s easy to lose interest when you are tired, but push through it and try to follow along. If you have any doubts whatsoever, don’t hesitate to ask questions.”
7. What are your future plans? Further education? “I plan to major in Human Biology during college and continue the journey through Medical School.”
8. What career do you see yourself in? “I’m considering a career in the medical field. I don’t know what specialty I want to do, but I’ll find the answer as I get more schooling under my belt.”
9. What’s your favorite high school memory? “I had lots of amusing experiences at school. My favorite was making the Metzgor the Barbarian drawings with Vince and Thomas in AP Biology.”
Jake Clady (Salutatorian)
1. How did you stay so focused all through high school? “Keep looking towards the future and not letting little things slow you down.”
2. Who helped you meet your goals? “All of my teachers, coaches, friends, and parents.”
3. Do you feel accomplished? “I do not feel accomplished yet because there is a lot I plan on accomplishing.”
4. What were your most and least favorite subjects? “My favorite subjects are math and science and my least favorite is English.”
5. How does your family feel about you being salutatorian? “They feel somewhat proud.”
6. What advice would you suggest for people who would like to get better grades? “Work hard and seek hep from your peers.”
7. What are your future plans? Further education? “I will attend Northwestern University and plan on earning my master’s degree in Chemical Engineering.”
8. What career do you see yourself in? “Chemical Engineering.”
9. What’s your favorite high school memory? “Playing high school soccer with my team.”