Every year, Apopka High commemorates the ten highest ranking students in each graduating class. This is an incredible accomplishment, considering the graduating class this year was well over 700 students. Students who place in the top ten have spent the last 4+ years taking extremely rigorous classes and being successful in them.

The Apopka High class of 2022 top ten are introduced below, in alphabetical order.

Adam Chase-Azzaoui

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to achieve top ten status?

I don’t really believe that I made any sacrifices to get into the top 10. I had to plan ahead in order fit both a social life, college and high school work, and a job but I would say if anything I’ve sacrificed my sleep because there have been a few nights where I’ve stayed up past 2 am working on assignments.

What does being in the top ten mean to you?

Honestly I’m happy to have made top 10, to me it just showed that the time I spent in school was worth it and it showed I can always improve because I went from 19 to 10 in a year.

Where are you planning on going to college?

I plan on going to Embry Riddle. I have been accepted to Embry Riddle as well as UCF, UF, FSU, LTU, RIT, and Clemson.

Alanis Cruz

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to achieve top ten status?

Well the funny thing was I wasn’t planning to be top ten! I just decided to take a ton of AP classes starting sophomore year and continued to challenge myself until senior year and it kinda just happened! Some sacrifices I did have to make were not having a full night’s rest every day as I would be studying or doing homework, and I would be stressed out sometimes because of how overwhelming some classes would be for me personally, although I eventually got the hang of it and figured out how to handle the course load.

What does being in the top ten mean to you?

Top means to me that all of my academic work throughout high school is being recognized, and it makes me feel proud of myself, especially after all the sleepless nights! It’s a great accomplishment to have, and I’m tremendously grateful for it:)!

Where are you planning on going to college?

I’ve gotten accepted to UF, FSU, UCF, FAU, Rollins, and other Florida schools as well! I might attend UF in the fall to pursue Nursing, and possibly become a pediatric nurse practitioner as I would love to help others!

Ethan Dean

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to achieve top ten status?

I have put in disciplined effort as well as sacrificed one family of squirrels each semester to achieve these results.

What does being in the top ten mean to you?

Being in the top ten to me means I get a number assigned to me to make me feel better for my choices.

Where are you planning on going to college?

I plan on going to UF, UCF, or the Trapeze Department at TO upon acceptance.

Rachel Decker

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to achieve top ten status?

During my sophomore and junior year I spent about 5 hours a night doing homework, I had to sacrifice hanging out with friends and shifts at work.

What does being in the top ten mean to you?

I’m happy I made it to the top ten because it recognizes my hard work throughout high school.

Where are you planning on going to college?

I plan on going to UF.

Anh Doan

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to achieve top ten status?

I’ve had to sacrifice many hours of sleep in the last 4 years trying to manage the workload of all my classes, while also making time for other things in my life. The sleep deprivation started to take a toll on my mental health so I had to make an effort to manage my time better and stop procrastinating.

What does being in the top ten mean to you?

Being in the top ten gives me a sense of pride. I have dedicated a lot of my time and energy towards school so it’s nice to have something to show for it. I see this accomplishment as a product of my hard work.

Where are you planning on going to college?

I’m still waiting to hear back from a few colleges, but so far I have been accepted into UF, UCF, USF, and Rollins.

Christian Martinez

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to become valedictorian?

I haven’t necessarily made sacrifices for the goal of being valedictorian, but I have made sacrifices for the goal of excellence in academics. Obviously, I’ve devoted a lot of my time to succeeding in the difficult classes that I have taken. Also, I had to stop wrestling in 10th grade, which of course I didn’t want to do, because I had a very intensive math class that took a lot of my time. As far as effort goes, I have certainly put a lot of effort into my academics; be it studying for 5s on my AP Exams or securing an A in one of my UF math classes, I always devote a lot of my time and energy into studying.

What does being the valedictorian mean to you?

Being valedictorian means essentially nothing to me. It is a nice boost to my already inflated ego, but it isn’t exactly an accurate measure of the most educated or the smartest. It simply says you have the highest GPA, which can easily be attained by taking a ton of nonsense Valencia classes. What does matter to me is being truly educated, because it holds inherent value, and, therefore, I am happy with my school career so far.

Where are you planning on going to college?

I am planning on attending Tito Gaona’s Flying Trapeze Academy.

Adam McAleer

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to achieve top ten status?

I think a lot of the effort I’ve put in mainly comes when I have multiple challenging projects or classes at the same time, and being able to efficiently manage my time. A core tenet I have held throughout high school is to, as much as I can, take only classes and extracurriculars that I am going to enjoy and are going to excite me. I’ve taken most of the AP science classes, not to inflate my GPA, but just because I enjoy science, and taken robotics for the last 3 years because it gives me more joy than any number on my transcript ever could.

The sacrifices I’ve made have definitely been made in time and stress. I had a lot on my plate at the end of last year, not just academic, so trying to divide my time, as well as my mental resources, in such a way that I can handle everything necessitates cutting corners, and not putting as much effort or concentration into things I would have prefered to do better. I’ve developed pretty good methods of stress relief to help me cope, mainly in the forms of taking time to do things that I enjoy, and meditation.

What does being in the top ten mean to you?

While I’m proud of being in the top ten, I wouldn’t have been disappointed if I hadn’t been. For me, there are better measures of the last four years than GPA, and I know that regardless of class rank, I’m happy with the way I’ve spent my high school career.

Where are you planning on going to college?

I applied to four colleges (UCF, UF, Duke, and MIT) and so far have been admitted to UCF and UF, still waiting for decisions from Duke and MIT later this month. I don’t know exactly what I want to major in yet, but I think I want to stick at least tangentially related to robotics. I’m probably leaning towards mechanical or electrical engineering, but a minor in mathematics or computer science is highly enticing.

Nathaniel Root

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to become salutatorian?

Throughout high school failing for me has been getting below an A…that’s just been a personal standard set by myself. I haven’t thankfully had to make too many sacrifices because I planned out my class schedule for the next four years at the beginning of high school. If I had to say a sacrifice I made, it might be a small one of my social life but not much. Initially starting high school, my goal was to become valedictorian but Junior year I found out I was fourth in the class so I just focused on graduating with my AA and the most amount of college credits I felt comfortable earning with ease.

What does being the salutatorian mean to you?

Salutatorian is just a title but I don’t define it fine as my greatest accomplishment throughout my high school career. It was just a consequence of the classes I selected. Some of my greatest accomplishments are the college degree that I’ve earned, the things that I’ve learned throughout the Engineering Magnet program, and the relationships I’ve made. Although it is an honor to be at the top of my class, my goal was just to succeed in high school to the best of my ability.

Where are you planning on going to college?

Although I was accepted to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, I plan on attending University of Central Florida and earn a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. After that, I’m considering a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering and working for Lockheed Martin or SpaceX.

Kishan Shah

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to achieve top ten status?

One of the biggest things I had to sacrifice was time. I remember having to stay up late countless times just so that I could be prepared for an upcoming test or exam. However, I do not regret any of it as I know it is going to help me in the future.

What does being in the top ten mean to you?

Being in the Top Ten is very rewarding for me as I received recognition and was able to see everything I did for the last four years finally paid off.

Where are you planning on going to college?

As of right now, I have not decided where I want to go yet. But I do know that I will be majoring in Health Sciences.

Benjamin Tracy

What type of effort have you had to put in and what sacrifices have you made the last 4+ years to achieve top ten status?

To get into the top 10 I’ve just been consistent with my studies and if I need to correct something or clarify my understanding of something I’ll take a bit of time at home to review online. I don’t think I’ve sacrificed much to get here, probably the biggest thing would be the interesting classes I had forgone to keep my GPA up, culinary, weightlifting, and some of the Orange Technical classes come to mind.

What does being in the top ten mean to you?

Being in the top ten isn’t something I think about much, I don’t like associating one’s worth with a number. It’s nice don’t get me wrong but it isn’t the be-all and end-all, we’ve still got many years ahead of us. I guess being in the top 10 means being consistent, in performance and trying to challenge ourselves.

Where are you planning on going to college?

I’m planning on going to UCF for college for both location and financial reasons.