After four years of dedicated work, seniors Grace Curry, Noellemarie Trost and Anika Patel have finally been rewarded for their success. By putting all their hard work into consideration, these three girls have been recognized as a trio that will share the title of salutatorian.

Dictionary.com defines the salutatory speech as “a welcoming address, especially one given at the beginning of commencement exercises in some U.S. high schools and colleges by thesalutatorian.” These girls, without the intention of earning the award, shared that they were pleasantly surprised when they were told of
their place in the Class of 2018.

Individually these girls have put in hard work since they were freshmen, determined to get the grades they desired. High school grades, however, are only the beginning and each of the three has a vision of the future while they prepare to wrap up this chapter in their lives.

After graduation, Trost plans to attend the University of the Pacific. “I will be a Biological Sciences major in their pre-dental program. After seven years, I will be a licensed dentist,” she said. “I will also be a part of the Freshman Honors Program and have a minor in music.”

Curry will also be pursuing a career in the sciences. “I want to go to Fordham University and study integrative neuroscience,” she said.

Patel’s focus is on a different type of science, computer science. She intends to stay closer to home and major in computer science and engineering at UC Davis.

While these three leaders are headed in different directions, they came by this success in a common manner. All three of them faced the challenges of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. While they didn’t set out to be speaking at graduation this year, they managed to exceed their goals as they prepare to face their  futures.