Valedictorian Q&A
By Mari Kanagy, Publishing Editor
With graduation rapidly approaching, schools across the country will be celebrating the achievements of their students, with special recognition given to students of high academic standing. Vashon has a reputation for high performance, with the graduating class often having two valedictorians.
This year, however, there are four valedictorians, each graduating with a 4.0 GPA: Lucy Boyle (LB), attending Oregon State University Honors College; Julia Macray (JM), attending University of California Davis; Mabel Moses (MM), attending University of British Columbia; and Garrett Mueller (GM), attending Brigham Young University.
The Riptide decided to sit down with each of the valedictorians to discuss their habits and experiences from high school, while also looking forward to the future.
Do you have plans for beyond college?
LB: “I’d like to do something where I get to be outside and travel. I definitely am interested in natural sciences and research opportunities.”
JM: “Not yet.”
MM: “Not really. [I’m] just kind of gonna see how college goes first.”
GM: “I’m thinking about going into the dental field, or maybe somewhere else in the medical field.”
How would you describe your high school work ethic?
LB: “I work really hard. I always pride myself on doing well and working hard to make sure that happens, so I’ve definitely been very diligent about getting things done and making sure that I do the best that I can do on every assignment.”
JM: “I wish I would’ve been more focused because I really procrastinated on a lot of things, and I can handle that, but I know in college the workload is going to be a lot more.”
MM: “I wish I would’ve been a bit more chill. I think I would’ve been happier.”
GM: “Pretty rigorous, I suppose. My priority was always getting things done as fast as I could while still maintaining a level of quality.”
What is your best memory from high school?
LB: “Some of my best memories are with the cross country team. I really enjoyed going to state with the girls my freshman year.”
JM: “I would say probably the trip this past April with the band to San Francisco because that was the best six days I’ve had in a long time, and it was fun to be with the people that I’ve been with in band for the past few years.”
MM: “Probably something to do with rowing. Going to practice every day after school and going crazy with my team and practicing and having fun.”
GM: “One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most is getting to know the group of kids from Southworth that I commute with.”
What was the hardest class you took in high school?
LB: “The hardest class I took would probably be AP Environmental Science. It was a pretty big workload but it was definitely worth taking.”
JM: “Mr. Rees’ Sophomore English class was, work-wise and content-wise, one of the hardest classes I’ve taken because of what he asked from us as sophomores.”
MM: “AP Calculus, right now, because all other math classes I could understand … without trying too hard, and AP calc is like trying super hard and I still don’t understand it.”
GM: “I would have to say Riptide.”
What advice do you have for other high schoolers?
LB: “Enjoy it, and do your work. It’s easy to procrastinate and do things at the last second, but don’t because staying on top of things will really help you in the long run.”
JM: “Don’t be afraid of loading yourself down with a lot of things because you want to try as many things as you can in high school. You want to learn what you like and what you want to do.”
MM: “Plan and manage your time well because if you let work pile up, it only creates misery and stress. If you get stuff done quickly, you’ll find there’s always time to relax and watch movies and have fun.”
GM: “Work hard but don’t work too hard. Have time for the other things that are important in your life.”