By JORDAN KNIGHT
Out of 669 seniors, senior Devan Spear has achieved academic success, ranked number one valedictorian status.
Spear is co-founder and president of Model United Nations, vice president of Social Justice Club, co-president of Environmental Club, secretary of Gay-Straight Alliance and co-founder of Boone Healthy Initiatives. She is a member of Mu Alpha Theta and Quiz Bowl.
“My favorite club is Model United Nations,” Spear said. “As co-founder and president, I’ve seen it grow into a community of great people who work hard to bring international debate to Boone.”
Spear is attending the University of Pennsylvania in hopes of studying economics or international relations. With this education, she wants to spend her life working in a non-profit International Development company.
Grades and being in advanced placement courses is the main struggle, but Spear has a different perspective.
“I struggled with figuring out who I am and what I want to do with myself beyond academia,” Spear said.
Although her struggle is different, Spear still faced academic obstacles.
“[My hardest class was] Advanced Placement Physics B with Undieme. I’ve done a lot of studying with Becky Burns,” Spear said.
Participating and holding leadership positions in numerous clubs as well as being enrolled in 6 advanced placement courses. With this number of advanced classes, stress mixed with a heavy workload, is cause for less motivation. However, she disagrees.
“I have a great deal of intrinsic motivation for success and keeping my grades up is a big part of that,” Spear said.
On a personal level, Napoleon Dynamite is her favorite movie because it’s about what love really is. Spear, if given the chance to meet anyone dead or alive, would meet Genghis Khan, because he conquered the largest contiguous land empire in history with nothing but tiny horses and bows and arrows.
As she ends her high school career and begins her college journey, Spear’s advice for underclassmen is “all you think you have all the time in the world to get your act together, but you don’t. Start now.”