[slideshow_deploy id=’60807′]Balancing school work, clubs and after school sports throughout high school, senior Nicholas Murphy’s road to being named a valedictorian was paved with many late nights and having to learn to master the art of balance.
Graduating with a 4.9 weighted GPA, Murphy challenged himself during his high school career by taking eight advanced placement classes.
“[Taking AP classes] was a challenge because they are a lot of work. They required a lot of studying,” Murphy said.
Among all of the classes Murphy took in high school, his favorite was AP physics, taught by Mike Undime, his favorite teacher.
“[I liked Mr. Undime] because he’s funny and he has an interesting way of teaching,” Murphy said.
While Murphy enjoyed certain classes, other classes proved to be a struggle to earn an A. Murphy cites AP United States History as his most difficult class however, it was not without its positive impacts.
“Mr. Parret [impacted me most in high school] because he pushed me and it was a really hard class,” Murphy said.
Maintaining straight As despite difficult classes was made further challenging by Murphy’s participation in extracurricular activities.
Murphy was a member of National Honor Society, Spanish Club and Spanish Honor Society. He also tutored in the math lab after school.
“I enjoyed tutoring in the math lab because I like helping people,” Murphy said.
In addition to school activities, Murphy also participated in sports.
After playing basketball on Boone’s team freshman year, Murphy began playing basketball with the Florida Basketball and Volleyball Association his junior year.
“Playing basketball [was my favorite extracurricular activity] because I like competing and playing with my friends,” Murphy said.
Murphy also participates in karate at Henry Graves Martial Arts Academy. Murphy has been practicing karate for three years and considers reaching one step below black belt status his greatest achievement in high school.
“I like karate because I like feeling like I can protect myself,” Murphy said.
Murphy plans to become a black belt over the summer before college.
Murphy will be attending the University of Florida in the fall and hopes to maintain his grades.
“I plan to stay committed to studying without my parents watching over me all the time,” Murphy said.