With getting accepted into college acting as her biggest motivator for the past four years, valedictorian Lauren Cassady plans to attend the University of Florida in the fall.
“[Keeping a 4.0 GPA was important to me because] I don’t like losing and anything below an A is losing,” Cassady said.
Cassady spent extra time and energy to pass her physics class. She bought two review books and watched videos to earn an A.
“[If I were to meet one person dead or alive] I would want to meet Newton so he could help me with physics,” Cassady said. “And, I want to know if the apple actually hit him on the head.”
Cassady struggled throughout high school to overcome her tendency to procrastinate and dealt with her lack of patience in her personal life. She believed that to qualify as a valedictorian a student must have both intelligence and willingness to work harder.
“[I would say my greatest achievement in high school was] not giving up and deciding to fail all of my classes half-way through the year,” Cassady said. “[But to be a valedictorian you must have the] willingness to do work,” Cassady added.
Cassady participated in extracurricular activities such as National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Always Wear Your Seatbelt Club and Ocean Activists Club. Aside from those activities, Cassady enjoyed sleeping, reading books and baking.
“My favorite class was digital design because it was a fun class with no homework,” Cassady said.
At the University of Florida, Cassady plans to major in Biomedical Engineering. She loves math and science, but being a doctor entailed exposure to germs that Cassady did not feel comfortable with.