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2011 WCPSS Valedictorians Celebrate Success

May 18, 2011 - Wake County Board of Education members will honor the 26 Wake County Public School System 2011 valedictorians at the board's June meeting.

Each high school with a senior class names a valedictorian. Two schools named co-valedictorians this year.

Twenty-one of the students plan to attend North Carolina universities with nine going to UNC-Chapel Hill, five going to NC State University and three bound for Duke. Three of the students earned full scholarships to attend a NC university. Ioan Bolohan and Safiyah Ismail are Cain-Morehead Scholars going to UNC-Chapel Hill. James Turner is a Park Scholar going to NC State University. Other students plan to attend East Carolina University, High Point University and Meredith College.

Five are headed to out-of-state schools: Columbia University, Emory University, Harvard University, University of Miami and the US Naval Academy.

Six want to be doctors and five indicated interest in engineering. Other career plans include attorney, fashion photographer, psychiatrist and university professor. One wants to be a Navy pilot.

Remembering teachers
Students were impressed by teachers who were passionate about what they taught and showed students that they cared.

"Mr. Volkmar, my AP Psychology teacher, is my favorite teacher," said Yash Agrawal. "He is deeply passionate about what he teaches and has a way of relating to his class on a very personal level, making the material relevant to the students. Both inside and outside of the classroom, his bright personality and friendly nature and wit never fail to improve my day."

"My favorite teacher was Mr. James Evans, my US History teacher from junior year," said Arjun Bhattacharya. "His dedication to his students was beyond anything I’ve seen.  It truly motivates students to see their leader in the classroom lose himself completely in the complexities of the class."

"My favorite teacher was Mr. Moore, who teaches Lessons from the Vietnam War," said Nikesh Doshi. "I really enjoyed the material, and his personal experiences and insight put the military and foreign policy in a new light for me."

Accomplishments
Students were proud of working to help others and participating in challenging opportunities that gave them insight into potential careers.

"I am most proud of the results my tutoring efforts had at my school," said James David Turner. "I tutored daily during lunch for four years and established the Math Tutoring Center for all students. My school experienced a significant improvement in test scores and a closer connection among the various student groups."

"As student body president, I started a fundraising campaign for the United Service Organization of North Carolina, founded an event to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and began Millbrook’s first school-wide tailgating program," said Ioan Bolohan. "As president of DECA, I won awards at the International Conference and initiated a charitable project for the Muscular Dystrophy Association which involved all classes in one united effort."

"Being a member of the Mock Trial team at Millbrook High School and competing at state competition in Charlotte is one of my most memorable experiences during high school," said Alexandra Moreci. "I bonded with my team members in a really unique way and going all four years really meant a lot to me."

"I am most proud of obtaining two consecutive summer internships at Wake Med Health and Hospitals where I rotated through several different surgical specialties as a surgical observer," said Timothy Anthony Rupnarain. "I am also proud of a similar opportunity at Duke University Medical Center and a summer research internship with the US Environmental Protection Agency."

Advice
The students advised that goal-setting, tackling challenging courses and hard work are important for academic success.

"Do not let anyone or anything keep you from reaching your goals," said Brandon Jay Majoy. "Never let up, finish strong."

"Don't focus so much on getting high grades," said Erin Edmonds. "You should just put in hard work to the best of your ability, and the awards will come."

"My best advice is to take higher level classes in subjects you enjoy and want to learn the material in," said Jessica Allen. "Don't be afraid to challenge yourself if you really want to take the class even if it is difficult."

"My advice would be to: Always go above and beyond," said Adeem Tahira. "Just completing your work will not get you into this position and only those who put in 110 percent can make it to the top. It might seem hard to always push yourself, but in the end it pays off."

How does the future look?
As they prepare to head out into the world, the students have concerns about the impact of the economy, the job market, security in an increasingly less secure country and dealing with the changes that lie ahead.

"At this time my fellow graduates and I face problems with the declining economy and the standstill in jobs," said Adeem Tahira. "I'm sure it will be very difficult for many of us to stand on our two feet so fast."

"I think the most significant challenge will be facing an increasingly competitive job market," said Nikesh Doshi.

"With the world changing at an ever increasing rate, our challenges will be keeping current and figuring out how each of us can make a meaningful contribution," said James Davis Turner.

"In four years the recession may be over, but our class has to face an increasingly more competitive global economy everyday, and we have to challenge ourselves so that we can continue to sit on top of the world," said Vikram Kane Mukherjee. "What we do to challenge ourselves helps us and everyone around us."

"Graduates are facing a set of serious challenges that will greatly shape their lives; namely, increased job competition from foreigners, an incomprehensibly large federal debt that will likely fall on the heads of this graduating class’ generation, and a technology-driven economy that is rendering many traditional jobs obsolete," said Alexander Goto Keith.

"Clean energy, cancer, economic stress, global political tension; all of these are problems that we’ll have to face," said Arjun Bhattacharya. "But I think that the number one problem for our generation, a problem that can ultimately be a solution to the problems I mentioned before, is improving the foundations of your education.  I know that all the success I have had in school is a root of the foundations that my parents and my elementary teachers ingrained in me from a young age."

"As developing nations strive to fulfill their needs and aspirations, it is inevitable that we will see increasing competition for dwindling resources," said Yash Agrawal. "In order to secure our places in this dynamic global community, it will be necessary to promote and facilitate the exchange of ideas between peoples, nations, and cultures."

"As we move to a new phase of life, my fellow graduates and I face the challenge of maintaining a balance between past and future: we must uphold the principles that our parents and teachers instilled in us, as well as be responsible for own decisions and actions," said Christine Delp. "Our ideologies of the world will certainly be challenged, and we must be prepared to face these challenges."

"The main challenge that I worry about in the future for my fellow graduates and myself is the economy," said Mindie Stanford.  "Those entering college will face the rising cost of tuition and cutbacks in financial aid.  Those entering the workforce will have to face the declining job opportunities and cuts in wages." 

"Regardless of if we're taking gap years, joining the military, starting college, or going to work, we're all going to have to come to grips with own independence and the freedoms and burdens that come attached with it," said Daria Jung. "Independence can be a great thing or a detriment; the challenge is going to be finding the middle ground. I guess this period is the best for self-discovery and broadening perspectives in order to become a well rounded individual, or this could be time to learn how to handle the responsibilities of "growing up." This is all very cliché but it does have some merit." 

"This is one graduating class that has no shortage of challenges," said Chiemeka Ezie. "We as a generation will have to develop creative solutions to such quandaries as the expanding population, the rising national debt, and the decreasing availability of fossil energy resources. I believe, however, that we can and will together develop innovative ways of approaching these issues and ensuring a prosperous future."

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Valedictorians

Favorite teachers

Advice

Accomplishments

Photos

Yash Agrawal	Arjun Bhattacharya	Ioan Bolohan
Erin Edmonds	Jessica Rand Williams	Safiyah Munzer Ismail
Nikesh Doshi	Alexander Goto Keith	Brandon Jay Majoy
Alexandra Moreci	Vikram Kane Mukherjee	Victoria Ragan
Timothy Anthony Rupnarain	Joseph Wayne Scoggins	Adeem Tahira
James David Turner	Emily Danielle Lusk	Christine Delp
Jessica Allen	Thomas Safon	Mindie Stanford
Taber Lewis

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Wake County Public School System, 5625 Dillard Drive, Cary, NC 27518 | 919-431-7400