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2009 WCPSS Valedictorians Celebrate Success

May 28, 2009 - Wake County Board of Education members will honor the 22 Wake County Public School System 2009 valedictorians at the board's June 2 meeting.

Each high school with a senior class names a valedictorian. This is the first graduating class and the first valedictorians for Holly Springs and Panther Creek high schools.

Listen to
WCPSS Valedictorians
Discuss Their Plans,
Offer Advice

6:45 minute mp3 file

Read the graduation
speeches shared by the
2009 Valedictorians

Seventeen of the students plan to attend North Carolina universities with nine going to NC State University, five going to UNC-Chapel Hill and three bound for Duke.

Four are headed to out-of-state schools: Cornell University, Notre Dame, University of Michigan and Wofford College. One is headed out of the country to McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Four want to be engineers, four indicated interest in medicine, three plan to be research scientists and one wants to be an astronaut. The students' career interests include astrophysicist, geneticist and district attorney.

Remembering teachers
The students had fond words for teachers who they remembered as caring and challenging.

Mrs. Duncan, my biology and anatomy teacher, is my favorite teacher," said Eunice Yim. "She has a passion for teaching and she truly cares about the success of her students. In addition, she has a sense of humor and she never fails to brighten up my day."

"Ms. Schelbe, my AP Physics teacher, was a favorite because she devoted so much time to her students, always being available to answer questions and discuss concepts," said Brinda Monian.

"Mr. Bowling was my favorite teacher because he went beyond the books, teaching us how economics applied to the real world," said Allyson Santini. "His unique monopoly games allowed us to see how various economic principles were interrelated and how the principles applied to us in our everyday lives."

"My favorite WCPSS teacher was Mrs. Boeh, who was my 11th grade AP Biology teacher. She was enthusiastic about her job, which allowed me to also be enthusiastic about my learning," said Kayla McCommons. "Even still, Mrs. Boeh encouraged creativity within her classroom through the use of role playing, model making, and games. Mrs. Boeh made it her mission to stay and help anybody who needed or wanted help. She did not show any favoritism and encouraged students to break out of their shells by not allowing students to be paired with the same partners every time group work was assigned. Together, these things explain why Mrs. Boeh was my favorite WCPSS teacher."

Accomplishments
When asked about accomplishments, several pointed to their academic success. Christopher Kao said he was proud of being recognized as a National Merit Scholar. Taylor Pardue was excited about being named valedictorian.

"I am most proud of finishing high school ranked number one in the class," said Pardue. "It is a validation of the hard work that I have put into my classes the last four years of high school."

Eunice Yim took pride in serving as secretary of Key Club for two years. Greg Martin was proud of earning his way to the state wrestling championships twice.

"I would like other folks to know that I would not have been here without the help of my parents and my wrestling coach," said Greg Martin. "They have taught me to be the best that I can be and to go even further beyond that."

Mary Burkey of Garner High was excited about the research work she accomplished.

"I completed four research projects in four years," said Burkey. "I became involved in a program that allowed me to complete a research project over the course of a year under the guidance of a NC State University professor. This showed me my love of research and allowed me to present what I learned alongside college students."

Two students - Kelly Blake and David Richard Gillespie - were proud of their athletics.

"An accomplishment I am most proud of in high school is signing my National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Wofford," said Blake.

"I am most proud of being 1st team all-conference in football because in my junior year I struggled to perform very well in the games," said Gillespie." I worked hard to get better over the off-season and committed myself to the game to be successful."

Advice
The students had advice for high school students encouraging them to plan ahead and work hard.

"Everyone is qualified to take AP and honors courses," said Christopher Kao." All it takes is application, dedication, and an open mind."

"Strive for success by setting short-term and long-term goals," said Eunice Yim. "Procrastination is the root of all evil and should be avoided."

"My advice to students wishing to excel academically is to never be afraid to ask for help," said Joshua Privette. "As a valedictorian, I had a tutor in math all four years of high school. Help is there, and sometimes help is needed to make you a better student, and that’s okay, you just can’t be afraid to ask for it."

Some of the students wanted to make sure the valedictorians were not seen as one-dimensional bookworms.

"I have played football and baseball in high school," said Ryan Collinsworth. "I also enjoy playing guitar, theater, and singing. I am heavily involved in my youth group and my church, participating in the drama team, choir, and youth praise and worship band. I love volunteering: feeding the homeless in downtown Raleigh and going to Ecuador three times on medical missions trips to serve the poor communities in Guayaquil."

"I’ve been on the Holly Springs Varsity Golf team for the past three years and we have experienced a high level of success in our first years of competition," said Barton Kiley. "I also have been playing the piano for 12 years and hope to continue my study at the collegiate level."

Michael Nokes wanted people to share his appreciation for the support he had received.

"I am eternally grateful to my family for their unflagging encouragement, help and support of my pursuits," said Nokes.

How does the future look?
The students were concerned about their immediate challenge of entering college and about the future that lies ahead.

"The state of the world at present is largely chaotic: our environment is polluted, countries are perpetually at war, the media is dulling people’s sensitivity to human life, and mismanagement of resources and greed are preventing millions of people from reaching their potential," said Kathryne Hawthorne. "I think myself and my fellow graduates will be faced with the challenge of seeing the larger picture of the world outside of ourselves—the long-term effects of our actions, and learn to make choices to counteract those negative effects."

"Due to our growing awareness of the natural world and humans’ ever-increasing impact upon it, our generation will be tasked with finding ways to counteract our negative effects on nature and create a sustainable coexistence with our planet," said Michael Nokes. "With our powers combined, we may find ways to slow global warming, give rise to new, eco-friendly and renewable energy sources, and create a better world for generations to come."

"We will be challenged by hard economic times," said Christopher Kao. "With the human population increasing, we will need to find more sustainable practices to create less waste and use less resources."

"Our generation faces the global challenge of environmental degradation," said Ryan Collinsworth. "We have the collective responsibility to protect our Earth and undo the damage generations of people have done before us. We also have the challenge of resurrecting the United States economy and supporting the retiring baby boom generation despite increasing global competition for jobs."

"My fellow graduates and I face a growing environmental peril that has been exacerbated by our current economic state," said Patrick Short. "In the future, it will be our job to look beyond explicit costs and benefits and realize what is the true benefit in the long run. Graduation is truly a commencement—a beginning, not an end—and we all face incredible futures ahead of us."

"The world is shrinking and changing at an incredibly fast pace," said Christina Chen. "There will be undefined expectations for us to meet, and major disagreements for us to face."

"A challenge that my graduating class will face is a reduced work force due to the economy which in turn will make it very difficult to get a job after completing higher education," said Joshua Privette. "Our class also faced decreased amounts of financial aid for higher level studies due to the economy. Money is going to play a big role in who can go and achieve a higher level education and who does not for our graduating class."

"Life has its ups and downs. You cannot have one without the other," said Mary Burkey. "Make the most of everything and cherish the world we live in. Make our lifestyles sustainable ones."

-wcpss-

Valedictorians

School	Valedictorian	University
Apex High	Michael Nokes	Notre Dame
Athens Drive High	Taylor Pardue	UNC- Chapel Hill
Broughton High	Jihoon Jung	McGill University
Cary High	Kathryne Hawthorne	UNC- Chapel Hill
East Wake High School of Arts, Education and Global Studies	Joshua Privette	NC State
East Wake School of Engineering Systems	David Richard Gillespie	NC State
East Wake School of Health Science	Emily Sanderson	NC State
East Wake School of Integrated Technology	Greg Martin	NC State
Enloe High	Christina Chen	Duke University
Fuquay-Varina High	James Dickmann	NC State
Garner High	Mary Burkey	NC State
Green Hope High	Brinda Monian	NC State
Holly Springs High	Barton Kiley	University of Michigan
Knightdale High	Kayla Ann McCommons	UNC-Chapel Hill
Leesville Road High	Yik Shing Tung	NC State
Middle Creek High	Ryan Collinsworth	NC State
Millbrook High	Kelly Blake	Wofford College
Panther Creek High	Eunice Yim	Duke University
Sanderson High	Patrick Short	UNC-Chapel Hill
Southeast Raleigh High	Christopher Kao	UNC-Chapel Hill
Wake Forest Rolesville High	Melissa Lantzer	Cornell University
Wakefield High	Allyson Santini	Duke University

Favorite teachers

Eunice Yim	Mrs. Duncan, my biology and anatomy teacher, is my favorite teacher. She has a passion for teaching and she truly cares about the success of her students. In addition, she has a sense of humor and she never fails to brighten up my day.
Kelly Blake	My favorite WCPSS teacher is Allyson Young because she truly cares and makes an undivided effort to form relationships with all of her students.
Ryan Collinsworth	My AP U.S. History teacher, Mr. Bissette, instilled within me a stronger work ethic and more pride in hard work than any other teacher. He pushed me beyond the limits I set for myself, and I am grateful to him for it. He taught me to be a deeper thinker, to work more efficiently, and to argue more effectively. The lessons I learned from his class transcended just U.S. History.
Christina Chen	Mr. Boggs, my 11th grade English teacher. He was tough but under his support and guidance, I grew not only as a writer but as a person.
Emily Sanderson	Ms. Harrah, who is now Mrs. Futrell was and is my favorite teacher. She taught me my entry level chemistry and her enthusiasm for the subject and her love of her students and her commitment to them achieving great understanding of the subject in her class is what totally turned me on to the subject. Mrs. Futrell encouraged me to take AP Chemistry and pursue the subject, which is now my second favorite next to math.
Joshua Privette	I have so many favorites, so I will give the top four: Mr. Les Turner, Ms. Emily Bottoms, Mrs. Linda Cousins, and Mr. Donnie Pearce. They are four totally different people with different personalities and teaching styles, but all of them were great encouragers to me and always pushed me to be my very best. I owe what I am academically to these teachers.
Kathryne Hawthorne	I have had so many amazing WCPSS teachers; I can’t possibly choose just one. I strongly believe that Cary High School has some of the best teachers on the face of the planet, and I’m grateful for every one of them. Among the best I’ve had, but of course not limited to, are Ms. Richards, Mr. Schafer, and Ms. Duncan. All of these teachers take what they are teaching and make if part of your life, not just part of a curriculum. They truly care about both their students’ success and the subject that they teach, and they go beyond their job to become mentors and confidants.
Taylor Pardue	My favorite teacher has been Lisa Hibler. She has taught me both Honors and AP Chemistry. I have really enjoyed both of her classes, especially the AP class. It is a very small class and she gives us a lot of personal freedom when learning. Also she is very easy to talk to about issues about school but not necessarily directly related to her subject.
Michael Nokes	My favorite teacher was Mr. Jeffrey Derda, my AP Biology teacher. He is a great teacher and works hard to make his classes interesting. His ardent enthusiasm for biology also helped spur my interest in pursuing a career in this field.
Mary Burkey	My mom, Mrs. Burkey. She has taught me the longest and the hardest. She was the first to push me when nobody else would.
Brinda Monian	Ms. Schelbe, my AP Physics teacher, because she devoted so much time to her students, always being available to answer questions and discuss concepts.
Allyson Santini	Mr. Bowling was my favorite teacher because he went beyond the books, teaching us how economics applied to the real world. His unique monopoly games allowed us to see how various economic principles were interrelated and how the principles applied to us in our everyday lives.
Kayla McCommons	My favorite WCPSS teacher was Mrs. Boeh, who was my 11th grade AP Biology teacher. She was enthusiastic about her job, which allowed me to also be enthusiastic about my learning. Even still, Mrs. Boeh encouraged creativity within her classroom through the use of role playing, model making, and games. Mrs. Boeh made it her mission to stay and help anybody who needed or wanted help. She did not show any favoritism and encouraged students to break out of their shells by not allowing students to be paired with the same partners every time group work was assigned. Together, these things explain why Mrs. Boeh was my favorite WCPSS teacher.
Melissa Lantzer	Either Mrs. Tara Wojciechowski (AP Chemistry) or Mrs. Shannon Norman (Band). Both of these teachers aimed to relate to every student as a person on an equal level, and they strived to challenge all students individually so that each student learned something every day. I enjoyed their classes very much, and I learned so much more than just the subject from them.

Advice

Patrick Short	Try anything and everything. When you find what you like, stick to it, but never stop trying. There are so many fantastic and drastically different things you can get involved with in school. It is important to use everything as a learning experience and not be afraid to put yourself out there.
Christopher Kao	Everyone is qualified to take AP and honors courses. All it takes is application, dedication, and an open mind.
Eunice Yim	Strive for success by setting short-term and long-term goals. Procrastination is the root of all evil and should be avoided.
Ryan Collinsworth	Scholastic achievement is not reserved for those who were born gifted. It is cliché but true: hard work is the key to success, no matter what one’s vocation is.
Yik Shing Tung	My advice would be study really hard, while still having a life; time management is a very essential skill because every second can have a great effect in life. It is also important to make your teachers like you (This only works sometimes).
Christina Chen	Helen Keller once said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something”. We can all make a difference.
Greg Martin	For students who are seeking to excel, my advice is to push yourself harder than everyone else, do your work plus more, stay focused and do your work immediately.
Joshua Privette	My advice to students wishing to excel academically is to never be afraid to ask for help. As a valedictorian, I had a tutor in math all four years of high school. Help is there, and sometimes help is needed to make you a better student, and that’s okay, you just can’t be afraid to ask for it.
Kathryne Hawthorne	The most important thing to make any course easier to understand is to make it applicable to your life, and realize that all of these courses are being offered because they are important. Once you learn to appreciate a subject, even if you don’t like it, it helps you motivate yourself to study and learn the subject matter. Also, don’t get too bogged down in the details of a course: look for themes, look for correlations, look for causes and effects—those are the important things that you actually carry with you and remember, and those are the things that constitute a true education.
James Dickmann	My advice is to take lots of AP courses, do all the homework, and don’t procrastinate.
Kayla McCommons	For other students who are seeking to excel scholastically, they should know that they only get one chance at high school. Do not let it slip through your fingers. They should be willing to work hard for what they want-nothing comes easy. During times in which it seems that one could not be overwhelmed any more with projects, papers, or homework, perseverance is the key. Excelling scholastically takes time, effort, and dedication.

Accomplishments

Patrick Short	I am extremely proud of the tremendous effort our marching band put forth this year to earn the first Grand Champion trophy in six years. This accomplishment is the manifestation of our time and effort in the practice rooms and on the field.
Eunice Yim	I am most proud of being the secretary of Key Club for two years because it shows that I am organized and I can balance my academics and my extracurricular activities.
Kelly Blake	An accomplishment I am most proud of in high school is signing my National Letter of Intent to play basketball at Wofford.
Yik Shing Tung	I am proud to become the valedictorian of Leesville Road High School and to fully adopt this new environment because I moved to the United States when I was in fourth grade, knowing very little English. With the help of my friends, family and teachers, I learned better English and enjoyed the new world around me.
Barton Kiley	Making straight A’s my final year of high school consisting of seven Advanced Placement courses. Most of my teachers (and my principal) said that it would not be a good idea and that it would be too much. Nonetheless, I was able to maintain my perfect GPA, jump three people for valedictorian, and still maintain a social life.
Emily Sanderson	The Marching Band’s Blue Spirit Award. Since we are the Blue Spirit Band, the award signifies everything we stand for: commitment, excellence, leadership, service, etc. and I was thrilled to receive the award and know I was considered to portray all of these qualities.
Greg Martin	I'm most proud of making it to the State Wrestling championships twice. I am proud of this because it is an individual sport and I had to push myself to make it that far. Not many individuals make it to state championships and I was lucky and worked hard enough to do it twice.
David Richard Gillespie	I am most proud of being 1st team all-conference in football because in my junior year I struggled to perform very well in the games. I worked hard to get better over the off-season and committed myself to the game to be successful.
Brinda Monian	Gaining acceptance into all the schools I applied to, including Duke and Johns Hopkins, because it was a recognition of my achievements thus far.
Allyson Santini	I am most proud of having a successful year being student body president. This position has not only enabled me to organize school events, it has allowed me to help the community through various fundraisers which helped the Make a Wish Foundation and leukemia patients. Student government has hade such a tremendous impact on my life and I am so grateful for the opportunity.
Jihoon Jung	Participating in the IB Diploma Programme, because it was a whole new world from that of AP, and I liked it. It made me think and analyze and critique, and not just as a cynic but in a fashion that demands an engaged mind, whatever that means.
Melissa Lantzer	I am most proud of my accomplishments in music. Throughout my high school career, I was able to play clarinet in Wind Ensemble, and both trombone and snare drum in the marching band. My senior year, I served as drum major, and I placed in district competitions with my clarinet. I learned invaluable lessons about leadership, responsibility and dedication, and I am happy that I was able to learn different instruments in order to help wherever the band needed it.

Photos

Mary Burkey	Ryan Collinsworth	James Dickmann
Kathryne Hawthorne	Jihoon Jung	Barton Kiley
Melissa Lantzer	Greg Martin	Kayla McCommons
Michael Nokes	Taylor Pardue	Joshua Privette
Emily Sanderson	Allyson Santini	Patrick Short
Yik Shing Tung	Eunice Yim