For most high school students, getting good grades is very important. Whether they’re just trying to get the credit and pass the class or trying to get the highest grade they can, the achievement for high schoolers is very meaningful to them. For seniors Kayleigh Huk and Austin Roberts, doing well in school means a lot to them. For the past four years, they have had many long nights studying for a test, doing hours of homework, and getting good grades in all their classes. Luckily for them, their hard work paid off, which rewarded them with being named Valedictorian (Kayleigh Huk) and Salutatorian (Austin Roberts) of their class. 

“It felt like a relief because this is a goal I set for myself when I was 12, and basically everything I’ve done for the past few years was with that in mind,” says Roberts.

Huk and Roberts worked very hard throughout their high school career to earn the titles they did. Many undergraduates also hope they can be the top of their class, just like Huk and Roberts. 

Huk and Roberts have been very active in the Woodland community throughout the past four years. Both were members of the National, Science, World Language, and Math Honor Societies. While also being involved in these honor societies, they also both held leadership positions within the societies. Huk is the vice president of the Science Honor Society and Roberts is secretary of Mu Alpha Theta, as well as the Science National Honor Society. Huk and Roberts were both very involved in the math team during the past four years. Roberts has also been the Class of 2021 President for the past four years. Huk and Roberts have also both been involved in sports throughout high school, Huk being on both the Girl’s Swim Team and the Girl’s Tennis Team, and Roberts being on the Boy’s Tennis Team. 

Getting good grades isn’t always easy for Huk and Roberts. Over the years, they have had great deals of stress, especially when it comes to their schoolwork. 

One tip of advice they give on doing well in school is to always challenge yourself, even if you believe you may not succeed.

“I think that the best advice that I can give is to challenge yourself. I think honestly, what’s most important is just being able to look at the situation and just take the next step,” stated Roberts. “If there’s a hard class you could take and you’re nervous about it, take it.”

Huk also suggests finding a good way to balance schoolwork and your social life, making sure you have a good mix of both. 

“If you try to focus on school 24/7, you’re going to crack. That happened to me my sophomore year, where I really struggled because I was really just going from school to doing my homework and going to bed. My junior year I really found a balance with the swim team, math team, and hanging out with my friends. I think that making sure you have something to take away stress, instead of just constantly adding more and more about school,” says Huk.

After high school, both Roberts and Huk will attend a university. Huk will major in Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. After college, she hopes to attend medical school and become a neurosurgeon. Roberts will be attending Emory University, located in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was admitted into the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, majoring in either biology or political science. After college, he hopes to continue onto graduate school. 

Congratulations to Woodland’s to Huk and Roberts for all their hard work in high school.