As the year comes to a close, we remember the seniors, especially the top ten, who excelled throughout their four years of high school.
- Emelee Newball
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
Seeing the results of my hard work
- How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other aspirations?
I’ve met a lot of different people these last few years, and I think that’s helped me have an open mind when it comes to building relationships.
- What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
Take advantage of all the opportunities you can get, and think about the potential outcomes. Even though I have accomplished many things already, I still wish I could’ve done more, and I regret not taking some of the opportunities I was given.
- What extracurricular activities did you participate in during high school and how did they contribute to your personal and academic growth
I’ve been in a lot of clubs like NHS, Beta, Spanish NHS, SGA, and Class Council just to name a few. These clubs helped me surround myself with like-minded people who have similar goals as me.
- Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
I wish I would’ve taken more risks and put myself out there more. Even though I have accomplished a lot in high school, I feel like I could’ve done more and not taken the easy way out out of fear of failure
- Daniel McAleer
Daniel was ranked number 9. He did not respond to The Blue and White’s request for an interview.
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- Jayson Monks
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
My most rewarding experience during high school has definitely been my participation in my extracurriculars, water polo and swim team. God, do I just love the people in these sports that I got to play and hang out with? Although I am by far not as great as the other players that will be graduating with me this year, the sincerity and brotherhood that I had with my teammates is something that I will never forget. I participated on these teams for 2 years, starting my junior year and ending this year, and I was recognized as the person with the best sportsmanship despite my lack of skill, and that to me made it all the more worth it. It would’ve been worth it regardless, because these sports mean to me a point in my life where I started to care, where I really feel like I started to grow as a person and break out of my shell. I don’t think I would be as sociable, as confident, or as happy in high school if it weren’t for these sports and I truly mean that. The coaches and players welcomed me with open arms and taught me a sport I had no idea existed, and turned it into a large stepping stone in my life that showed me what playing on a team really meant. More than just winning, more than just losing, it means to work with others through pain and suffering and come out as better people, regardless of the outcome. (and for the record, I did not participate in any other extracurriculars, or at least I don’t think any other ones were noteworthy)
- How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other aspirations?
Regarding the amount of APs I had taken, I do believe high school has prepared me for college in that I’ve been exposed to the type of content, workload, and tests that I will have when I go to UCF in the fall. I believe the me now is far smarter and brighter than the me in my freshman year, and that’s because of the classes I took and how they have challenged me mentally. Even if the material itself in some the classes that I took came easy to me and I knew how to apply it, those classes as well gave me workloads I wasn’t used to and expectations I wasn’t used to, and it forced me to grow and get better if I wanted to maintain my grades. I believe that will help me greatly in college, and in discipline.
- What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
I would say to go and put yourself out there. Join clubs you think would be fun, do sports you think would be fun, or just take class you think would be fun. Find your people. There are a lot of people at school, and there are bound to be those that you connect with and want to hang out with. Before I had joined my extracurriculars or began to take far more AP classes, I wasn’t really with people that I thought were my people. Now that I have, I can say that there’s a lot of people I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and that I’m so grateful for the steps I had taken to put myself out there. Just don’t forget why you’re doing it. Do the things I said in order to better yourself, not to gain approval from others.
- Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
I would have definitely joined the water polo and swim team my freshman year if I had known what it would entail for me later down the line. If I had done so, the connections I built with those I met would only be stronger than they are now. But other than that, I don’t think I would’ve done anything differently. I’m content with where I am now and excited for what life has in store for me, whether good or bad.
- Ethan Korkes
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
I think my most rewarding experience would have to be going to the state championship for football twice and being able to go and experience the culmination of our hard work with my friends and brothers. Although it’s sad we lost, it’s still one of my favorite experiences from high school.
- How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other
aspirations?
It’s taught me a lot and I’m not just referring to calculus or English, it taught me to interact with others in a proper setting as well as teaching me how to start playing the game of life. It helped me find myself and although my start to high school was a little weird because of Covid, it helped prepare for what it’s gonna be like when I go to college and when I’m gonna be on my own.
- What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
I know every senior says it, but enjoy your time in high school. I know it feels like you’ve got so much time ahead of you but it goes by fast. Enjoy the moments with your friends and don’t be afraid to do something that you’re unfamiliar with. It’s gonna be like a rollercoaster so make sure you’re buckled in because it’s not gonna wait for you to be ready.
- What extracurricular activities did you participate in during high school and how did they contribute to your personal and academic growth?
I did varsity football, lacrosse, and weightlifting. I also participated in robotics and Mu Alpha Theta as well as a plethora of other things. One thing I’d say is that it really helped me diversify both myself and my friend group. I got to meet and interact with a bunch of people I would’ve never for to meet if I just did football or I just did robotics. I think that they have truly had a large impact on me as a person and academically.
- Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
The only thing I would say I’d maybe do differently is I’d make more time for my friends. I spent so much time doing other things that, while I met new friends and did new things, every once in a while, I’d leave someone behind without meaning to. So I’d say try and make time for the important people in your life, even if it feels like you have no time.
- Manuel John
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
My most rewarding experience has been hanging out with my friends from going out on field trips to Beta
Convention to hanging out outside of school. It is honestly a fun time to spend time with friends and talk.
- How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other aspirations?
So I plan to attend the University of Florida for Aerospace Engineering, but high school has been a major step towards that. With the help of my guidance counselor and teachers, I have been getting one step closer to my career, and now I have reached a door leading to even more steps. But high school has prepared me, in a way that I am now confident of what I want to do, and how to achieve it along with some difficulty along the way.
- What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
Some advice I would give academically is to work hard your first 3 years and take as many AP and dual enrollment classes as you can, and then take a slow and chill time with your Senior Year. Because Senior year is the year to relax and plan for your future. My other advice would be to enjoy your time in high school make tons of friends along the way and experience high school one day at a time.
- What extracurricular activities did you participate in during high school and how did they contribute to your personal and academic growth?
Some extracurricular activities that I did were Tennis as well as multiple honor society club as well as Beta Club. All these clubs were very important to my growth from Mu Alpha Theta which helped me tutor otherwise as well as myself on math concepts. I was also able to go to Beta Convention which is a must-have for being in Beta club. It is an event in Florida in which other schools in the state compete for different categories but it was very important for me to be able not to just spend time with my friends but also make new connections. Tennis was very fun as well, to be able to play competitively but also learn teamwork and work together with my teammates.
- Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
Looking back the only thing I would do differently is make the friends I have now much sooner, that way I would have made way more memories. I also had a redo on my freshman that got overturned due to COVID. But otherwise, I wouldn’t change anything else because everything has been perfect. And also don’t want to cause a temporal paradox.
- Samuel Nuebel
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
My most rewarding experience during my time in high school was my involvement in Speech and Debate. I have debated for 3 years, the latter 2 being the Team Captain. I would credit that time to an incredible amount of personal growth, as Speech and Debate taught me skills such as public speaking, persuasion, and interpersonal skills, which I believe are really important for both school and the professional world. The opportunity to lead the large team we have here at Apopka is something I am immensely proud of, as it means I had the opportunity to try to expand these skills to some of my peers so that more students become passionate about public speaking and debate. Additionally, throughout all the tournaments, I have made incredible, intelligent friends from across the state and nation, which is a truly unrivaled experience.
- How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other aspirations?
Throughout high school, I always sought to challenge myself in all aspects: academics, extracurriculars, and athletics. I think this has prepared me for college as it has taught me how to balance all of my interests while being a high achiever with plenty of free time to spare. Managing a full course load of AP and Dual enrollment classes, leadership in Debate and DECA, as well as being on the Varsity Lacrosse team really forced me to learn how to balance work and leisure, as I would describe myself as a work-hard, play-hard type of personality, which I hope not to have to compromise on later in life.
- What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
On the academic side of things, I would say to challenge yourself with your course load and study early for your SAT/ACT. This is pretty basic advice, but specifically, I would say do that, but don’t treat it as a competition. Do those things for the sake of your own growth and future, not because you want to outdo the next person. Hopefully, if you follow both parts, you can achieve a lot while not feeling a lot of the stress associated with it. For advice about the social aspect of high school, just know whatever is going on is not that deep and try not to take yourself too seriously.
- What extracurricular activities did you participate in during high school, and how did they contribute to your personal and academic growth?
I was the Speech and Debate Team Captain, DECA President, Varsity Lacrosse Captain, and a member of Beta Club & Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society. These clubs allowed me to take on responsibilities, develop my leadership skills, and expose me to a wide range of my interests.
- Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
Overall I couldn’t be more satisfied with how high school has gone. With that being said, there are a few things that I would have changed. Looking back, the two main things would be to challenge myself more when I was a freshman and sophomore, and I wish I got more involved in extracurriculars as a freshman, as I would have loved an extra year in debate.
- Colin Poon
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
My most rewarding experience during my time in high school was honestly my entire freshman year, where I was able to really explore classes in my areas of interest that actually had a rigor, truly enjoyed just about every day of that year, and truly just loved everyone that I surrounded myself with. This set me up to succeed when I went to Taiwan that following summer as well to learn Mandarin Chinese, and I honestly am looking to reset myself to meet that standard of excellence, happiness, and wellness again when I go to Taiwan for an academic year.
- How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other aspirations?
My high school experience has certainly taught me a lot, where I’ve come to learn that a student version of a work-life balance and enjoying what you do are key to one’s success and overall happiness. Moreover, in terms of academic preparedness, I believe that my AP and Chinese classes have empowered me to complete almost all of my college general education prerequisites and practically the first two years of college Chinese language courses, which will prevent me from having to take an overbearing amount of courses in college. Furthermore, I find that leadership positions in high school have certainly led me to believe that it is always quality over quantity in terms of what we should strive for in our engagements in school and the community, as really honing in on what you love makes you all the more passionate and engaged in the select few activities you choose to engage in.
- What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
Don’t necessarily follow the herd in everything that you do. Find what YOU love, don’t set up false expectations for what you need to achieve from peers who don’t know what they are talking about or social media influencers looking to make a quick buck off of your anxiety, and believe in yourself and what you can do. Rather than making your freshman year really easy and then all of your other years harder, spread out your workload in terms of rigorous courses so that you can slightly add on to what you did the prior year, so you may have sustainable and achievable growth over the course of your four years. Also, I highly recommend that if you are an AP or AICE student and can focus, take one of your first AP or AICE classes on FLVS, where you won’t have the distractions of your peers who may otherwise make your course performance mediocre, sets you up for success on the AP exam (or you can actually opt-out of the exam on FLVS, unlike at Apopka High School), and allows you to set an expectation of what an AP class should be and how you should approach taking one (don’t, however, take math courses or courses that ought to be taught in-person).
- What extracurricular activities did you participate in during high school and how did they contribute to your personal and academic growth?
I participated in a number of extracurriculars and just a few at school.
- Outside of school, I engage in cultural and civic engagement work. With REACH of Central Florida, I learned to appreciate my heritage, advocate for my community with Make Us Visible Florida, and how to properly lead an organization. Moreover, through my experiences as a 2024 MLK Youth Humanitarian and IMPACT Melanoma Ambassador, I’ve learned that it is together as a community that we may make the most change and that anyone can make a difference in their community respectively. While I have a few other organizations and activities that I did in addition to those 3-4 that I mentioned, I would prefer not to bore anybody by blabbering too much haha.
- At school, I mainly involved myself with the Debate Club and Asian Students Association. Debate was meaningful to me as I learned how to make more holistic and bullet-proof arguments about all of the topics I am interested about, while also teaching me that due diligence about time management in preparing a case and collaborating with your teammates are key factors to success in both debate and life at-large. For the Asian Students Association, it largely taught me how to adapt to organizing a club without a large hypothetical member base (Apopka High is only 2% Asian), truly plan out our meetings for the benefit of my board and the club’s members, and how to learn from those who came before you (ASA presidents from other schools taught me some of the things they do to keep their members engaged, although their Asian populations are exponentially larger than our school’s).
- Retrospectively, I believe that having at most five extracurricular engagements, which may include a part-time job, volunteering work at an animal shelter, or heading a club at school, is best with the variety it provides while you may still truly commit to them.
- Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
Thinking back, I think there are mainly two things that I would do differently.
- After coming back from Taiwan only three days before school started, rather than instantly diving into activities in the community, I should’ve let myself rest, finish my Calculus summer packet (while I finished most of it before I left and ended up finishing it, I should’ve spent more time reviewing it), and overall just be open-minded and excited about the new year. Due to the fact that I just kept myself busy despite flying for 20 hours the day before, I didn’t begin my “junior” year with the same energy I always bring to the new school year that I had done since kindergarten, and it just didn’t feel right.
- In the spring of my junior year, I became a bit worried about my extracurricular engagements, and if they would be enough for college applications. So over the course of approximately 48 hours, I signed up for a number of activities, joined a few of them, and engaged in what they did. However, I realize now that it wasn’t necessary and I should’ve focused on the roles that I already had in my extracurriculars. While I didn’t truly engage in any of those new engagements heavily, they nonetheless took away a bit of time that could’ve been used towards the extracurriculars I was already in and were a mere result of college application anxiety (which was very silly of me indeed). Overall, take responsibility for what you are already in, trust that you are good enough, and live in the moment with what is in front of you.
- Matthew Nguyen (two students both place fourth)
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
The most rewarding experience is always in July when the AP scores come back. It always feels nice to see all the hard work you put in every year be worth something, even if it is just a score on an exam.
How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other aspirations?
One of the biggest things high school taught me was time management. There are only so many hours in a day, and if you’re not allocating them efficiently, you end up losing sleep which takes a toll on you over time. I feel more prepared to take on more responsibilities in college because of this skill I have honed.
What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
I advise freshmen to take classes that they would genuinely enjoy, not just to boost their GPA. You only have four years in high school where everything is fairly low stakes, so while you should challenge yourself, don’t be afraid to take classes just for fun.
What extracurricular activities did you participate in during high school and how did they contribute to your personal and academic growth?
I participated in NHS, BETA, Mu Alpha Theta, Science National Honor Society, and ASIA. Through these clubs, I was able to participate in many service projects and grow as a student through engaging with math and science outside of the typical classroom learning environment.
Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
I would have prioritized sleep more. Trying to succeed in all of my classes often came at the expense of my sleep, so sleeping more so I could come to school more alive would have made my days much more enjoyable.
- Emerson Sheyda
Emerson ranked number 3. She did not respond to The Blue and White’s request for an interview.
- Elijah Nuebel
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
The most rewarding experience for me is overall seeing my hard work turn into results. Whether it be a grade, test score, or senior year with class rank and college acceptances, it is pretty rewarding to start seeing some success come from working hard over the last four years. There were definitely some moments where I was wondering if it would be worth it in the end, but I’d say that it paid off.
- How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other aspirations?
In my high school experience, I worked hard to be successful but also set myself up for the future. Because I have seen of my hard work, I was able to have a wide range of college options, which ranged from several top liberal arts colleges, FSU Honors, and UF Honors with an invite to URSP and a Presidential Scholarship. Ultimately, I decided on Northwestern University, where I will be attending in the fall, studying economics. Going to a school like Northwestern will open a lot of doors, whether it be career paths in finance, consulting, law school, or in the form of lifelong connections.
- What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
Find a good balance early on between doing well in school and having fun. I see too many people taking either extreme, and neither one will be great for you in the long run.
Also, slowly build up participation in extracurriculars that you find fun/interesting that way by senior year, you have plenty of involvement that will help you in your college applications. Then, you don’t have to scramble to join tons of new clubs senior year or take the nuclear option and lie about what you did for college applications.
- What extracurricular activities did you participate in during high school and how did they contribute to your personal and academic growth?
Some of the things that I was most involved in were the school newspaper, varsity lacrosse, debate, community service/volunteer work, and tutoring. I don’t know about it personally, but a lot of the things I participated in made me a stronger student academically.
- Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
I don’t think there is anything major I would’ve done differently. There are things that I wish I could go back and redo, but nothing that’s gonna make me lose sleep over.
- Thony Ramos
- What has been your most rewarding experience during your time in high school?
Probably getting into Yale and realizing all my hard work in high school did not go to waste.
- How has your high school experience prepared you for your future plans, whether it be college, a career, or other aspirations
I would say high school definitely taught me my study habits as well as my limits. I learned what study methods work best for me and in what subjects. I also learned my personal limits by understanding my capacities and boundaries when it comes to schoolwork. This will all help me when I go to college!
- What advice would you give to incoming high school freshmen who are just starting their high school journey?
Be mindful of who you keep around! It’s better to have a small circle of close friends you trust than a large circle of supposed friends.
- What extracurricular activities did you participate in during high school and how did they contribute to your personal and academic growth?
I made sure to seek activities that interested me like Science NHS and Spanish NHS. They allowed me to not only explore my academic interests, like science, but also my culture! They contributed highly to my growth in leadership abilities.
- Looking back on your high school years, is there anything you would have done differently? If so, what would it be and why?
I wouldn’t change anything about it. I have no regrets and I’m happy that way.
