From beginning 8th grade online to now graduating from high school, the Class of 2025 has experienced quite a bit. At Tualatin High School, 29 of the 381 seniors have achieved valedictorian status. This means these individuals maintained an unweighted 4.0 across all four years.
Huge congratulations to these outstanding seniors: Lucy Austin, Olivia Berck, Mia Burgos Davila, Addison Deibele, Ariana Edwards, Alex Ehrhart, Jenna Fernandez, Calleigh Germer, Jamie Hartmann, Sienna Hoff, Julia Humphries, Rose Jakubs, Daniel Kehoe-Ellis, Marc Khanna, Jonathon Lim, Jake Madrid, Rachel Rotunno, Vincent Sadighi, Delia Schlichting, Grace Sethi, Sydney Smith, Kieran Stewart, McKenzie Stone, Steven Tran, Page Velazquez, Kayla Vo, Madison Whitney, Dylan Yahna and Hana Yokoi.
The Wolf sat down with some of these valedictorians to learn about their high school journey.
Q: What helped you maintain your 4.0 in high school?
Kehoe-Ellis: Definitely the support of my family. They allowed me to not have to go do a bunch of stuff after school, which gave me the opportunity to stay at home and work on my schoolwork, which I wouldn’t have if I was forced to get a job.
Fernandez: I think the biggest thing was time management. I was able to balance my academics and athletics pretty well.
Burgos Davila: Staying on top of my work, using my time in class wisely and the motivation from not wanting my brother to one-up me since he was also valedictorian.
Lim: Last minute procrastination helps me lock in and turn in high-quality work at the last second.
Q: How did you balance school work with extracurriculars in your life?
Kehoe-Ellis: It was difficult. Many times I couldn’t balance it. For example, my senior year, I decided to stop playing sports so I could focus more on my schoolwork. However, I did continue to play in the orchestra my senior year, sometimes even cutting sleep.
Fernandez: Planning ahead of time and just making sure that my schedule and calendar is all lined up so I can get everything done timely.
Burgos Davila: Having other activities meant that I would have less time to get things done at home. I worked hard to use my class time as best as I could and remain productive. If I finished my work early in one class, I would use it to finish work for other classes.
Lim: I didn’t balance it well. I just didn’t do school work until the last second, and it worked out.
Q: What is your proudest moment in high school?
Kehoe-Ellis: My proudest moment in high school was getting second place at our district orchestra competition. I put in a lot of work this year, and I was able to be a part of a group that almost qualified for state, so I’m pretty proud of that.
Fernandez: I guess getting Valedictorian. I feel like it sums up all of the work I put in.
Burgos Davila: Graduating!
Lim: Getting [the] squat record in weightlifting.
Q: If you could go back to freshman year, what advice would you give yourself?
Kehoe-Ellis: I would advise myself to not think about only money when trying to choose a career. I wanted to be a doctor my freshman year, but now that I’m a little more mature, I realize that’s not what I actually want.
Fernandez: Some advice I would give to myself is to not stress as much, because I feel like I thought high school was going to be difficult. It was challenging, but there was fun to it as well.
Burgos Davila: Try new things.
Lim: Start everything earlier, and take every single opportunity that you can that will set you up for a better future. Some examples include pursuing club officer positions early, applying for internships related to your major, etc.
Q: What was the most stressful part of high school?
Kehoe-Ellis: College admissions. Not only because it’s important for my future, but I also had to worry about scholarships and whether I would have enough money to go. It was just a very stressful time overall.
Fernandez: Junior year just as a whole, because that’s when you start your IB classes. Transitioning from sophomore year to junior year was really difficult for me.
Burgos Davila: Making a college decision.
Lim: Studying for SATs or the IB exams.
Q: Which class almost caused you to lose your 4.0?
Kehoe-Ellis: Ms. Bailey’s Spanish 3 class, just because the no-late-submissions for homework kind of screwed me up.
Fernandez: IB Physics 1. It was so bad that I couldn’t take the second one, especially with Mr. Murray leaving.
Burgos Davila: IB Math Analysis and Approaches HL 2.
Lim: IB Literature 12. I got an 89.6%, but Mr. Malone thankfully rounded it up.
Q: What are your plans after high school?
Kehoe-Ellis: I hope to pursue a Bachelor’s of Science in mathematics at Oregon State University, and then eventually work to teach math to others.
Fernandez: I’m going to San Diego State University, majoring in kinesiology, and I’m attending their Weber’s Honors College.
Burgos Davila: I will be attending Grand Canyon University in the fall to study accounting and finance.
Lim: Attend Purdue University and get a computer science degree, and then pursue a master’s and Ph.D.
