Valedictorians come in bunches at some valley high schools

Terry Webster

Thursday, June 1, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

Clark County School District Class of 2000 Valedictorians

Jaimie Nakae.

Rachael Burr, Driel Diether, Jamee Jenson, Derek Muaina, Sharlin Southwick, Laura Weed, Mark Williams.

Jared Beckman, Daniel Coming, Angela George, Cheryl Gustafson, Anna Hargis, Emily Ishkanian, David Menard, Emily Nietrzeba, James O'Dea, Matthew Reynolds, Megan Tufteland.

Lee Hafen, Jillian Konst, Michael Pandullo, Chantel Reyna, Amy Snow.

Cheyenne High School

Chaparral High School

Kevin Micheal Garnett, Lynn Cher Ho.

Aaron W. Alred, Alexis Harrington, Derek Jamison, Lindsey Kemp, Andriani Lionakis, Angela Riedel, Nicolas Vincent.

Nathan Dahl, Sirui Jiang.

Erin Masae Okazaki.

Amanda Elizabeth Rodda.

Joni Burleson, Emily Gubler, Catherine Lu, Lauren Pena, Alan Senh, Jemison Ukken.

Garrett Wayne Bailey, Cherie Parshall, Racquel Dyguazo Warren.

Sohail Afiat, Megan Cederburg, Lara Davenport, Clifford Davison, Tondra De, Lloyd DelMondo, Nitin Dhamija, Dustin Dickamore, Kelly Gougar, William Hughes, Joshua Kern, Dan Kravitz, Abigail Miller, Christina Wood, Kyle Woods, Elizabeth Yu.

Nichole Dunn.

Leah Hansen.

Zachary James Vineyard.

William Sovich.

Theresa Brunner.

Robert O'Brien.

Kavin Keratikasama.

Keva Rae Briggs, Bradley Mecham.

Princess Bracey, Melveen Cornelio, Natalie Johnson, Che'rie MacDonald, Craig Robison, Erica Ross.

Johnathan Zavatsky.

Lindsay Appuglise, Vivian Doctora, Jennifer Koonce Chung Lam, Larry Lam, Christina Macis.

Kim Seoyoung.

Samantha Martin.

Melissa Leanne Cowley.

Estella Armenta, Heather Thompson.

Jun Kyong Song.

Jacqueline Barajas, Ana Cruz, Beatriz De La Torre, Olivia Espinoza, Rosalin Gomez, Thomas Gorton, Michael Harbour, Leonardo Honrubia, Timothy Lighthart, Jean McIntyre, Mandylene Miller, Araceli Nunez, Kelly Orr, Adriana Parra, Marissa Patterson, Navin Rongratana, Max Supera, Branden Tennell, Jotham Thomassen, Joseph Trickett, Angela Verry.

Dustin Scott Allen, Alex Glen Barnum, Robin June Montgomery, Ryan Blake Perkins, Jessie Ann Turner, Amie Beth Weinrich.

Kassandra Bauer.

SOURCE: Clark County School District

Ask the question, "Who's number one?" at Vo-Tech High School, and you'll get 21 answers.

At Green Valley High School, you'll get 16.

In the Clark County School District, the country's eighth largest, it isn't lonely at the top.

Fifteen of the district's 32 high schools have more than one valedictorian this year.

The Southern Nevada Vocational Technical Center has the most -- 21 -- followed by 16 at Green Valley. Other high schools in the district have several to nearly a dozen.

Virtually all of Green Valley's valedictorians said they don't mind sharing the glory.

"Everyone here really deserves this," said Kelly Gougar, who quit the Green Valley drill team and gave up watching television so she could excel academically. "It's not a problem at all, just as long as I'm up there with them."

Gougar knows firsthand how precarious that position can be. Two-tenths of a point separated her from a friend who lost the chance to become valedictorian.

"When I was a sophomore, I received an 89.6 in English, but the teacher bumped it up to a 90," she said. "I had a friend who got an 89.4, and he didn't make it."

Academic talent isn't the only thing deciding who comes out on top.

"It's drive and determination," said Green Valley Principal Betty Sabo. "These students work so hard. I don't think they really realize how much they have done."

Abby Miller could be the exception. But the toughest test she ever faced came outside of the classroom.

"Everyone has ups and downs," said Miller, a star track and cross country athlete at Green Valley. "It's knowing how to get through it."

As a sophomore, Miller suffered debilitating knee and back injuries that sidelined her from the sports she loved. Then doctors told her she would never run again.

"It was really hard for me," she said. "I had to be so strong."

Following months of painful physical therapy and a stint on the swim team to help build back her strength, Miller proved the doctors wrong.

Not only did she compete again, she earned national recognition as one of the top 15 runners in the country.

Other Green Valley valedictorians have had their own personal struggles.

"One of the things I discovered this year is that it's important to enjoy life, as well," said Keith Hughes. "There is a life outside of school and it's important to be well balanced."

Sohail Afiat said he had to overcome a time when he "lacked enough motivation."

All of the hard work she put in left Megan Cederburg lacking in another area: Sleep.

"You don't have a lot of time to sleep," she said.

Clifford Davison likened his high school years to a roller coaster ride.

"It has been scary and exciting at the same time," he said.

The ride isn't over yet.

"Most of the schools will be calling them candidates," said Jane Kadoich, assistant director of secondary Guidance and Counseling. "They will not declare valedictorians until they go back and see who has the highest grade point average and so forth."

It's rare for a student to get this far and not get the award, Kadoich said.

"Generally, these students are very disciplined and have all of their ducks in order," she said.

In Clark County, having multiple valedictorians is not a new concept.

But there are critics who feel there should only be one number one.

Take Timothy Lighthart, for example.

Lighthart, a Vo-Tech valedictorian, said his grade point average is "higher by far." He also points to the difficulty of the course work he has completed.

Another beef Lighthart has is the lack of advanced placement classes at Vo-Tech, although he did take honors classes.

"I'm not going to put valedictorian on my resume, just my class ranking," he said.

Kelly Orr, a cosmetology major, is another Vo-Tech valedictorian.

"At our school, if you have a 4.0 or higher, you are valedictorian," Orr said. "I think it's fairer that way. Not all students have had the chance to take advanced placement classes."

While at Vo-Tech, Orr mapped out a unique academic strategy.

She will use her hair-cutting skills to help pay for college, and she aspires to attend medical school.

"I just wanted something to fall back on," she said.

According to school district policy, the valedictorian award goes to students who rank first in their class. The salutatorians are students who rank second.

Ranking is determined by grade point average and a weighted .025 grade point for the successful completion of up to 14 full-year honors, advanced placement or International Baccalaureate courses. The highest grade point average a student can earn is 4.7.

"Some schools do not use the honors factor," said Kadoich. "For example, Vo-Tech uses just the straight grade point average."

Matthew Felling, media director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a Washington, D.C., think tank, disagrees with having multiple valedictorians.

Interestingly, Felling was the 1992 valedictorian of a Virginia magnet school. He claims his personality, not his grade point average, earned him the award.

"Nobody held it against me," said Felling, explaining that other students who were ranked higher bowed out of the chance to deliver the valedictorian speech because they didn't want to speak before their peers.

Still, Felling finds it unusual to have 15 or 20 valedictorians.

"It's unheard of on the East Coast," he said. "That's probably a little too progressive for this time zone"

District-wide, Clark County has a total of 113 valedictorians and 32 salutatorians this year.

"It's really proportionate to the student population base," said Leonard Paul, assistant superintendent of secondary education. "We have these huge schools, and we try to encourage students to excel."

Over 9,600 seniors are expected to participate in graduations, which take place today through June 8. About 15 percent of the graduates are in line for honors diplomas.

Before it was over at Green Valley, the valedictorians faced one final test. For some of them, it was scarier than the calculus and physics exams they had to ace.

Those who wanted to give the valedictorian speech at graduation had to audition before a panel and received a grade on their performance.

Elizabeth Yu accepted the challenge and became one of the speakers who will address the Class of 2000.

"High school was really just an initial phase to prepare me for college," said Yu, adding that the work she put in during her senior year was "overwhelming."

Paul said the district is "absolutely thrilled and proud of all of the students who are high achievers."

And he hopes the entire Class of 2000 receives the recognition it deserves.

"We tend to spotlight those kids who are straight-A students," said Paul. "But we should be proud of all of the kids who graduate."

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