Jacqueline DeVelder is one of 27 valedictorians.
What does it mean to you to be named a valedictorian? “Being named a valedictorian means everything to me. I have spent 12 years giving school my all, and to be named valedictorian means that it was all worth it in the end for me.”
What is the most important thing you learned while at Boone? “I learned to savor every moment. Life is short and this is the best time of your life.”
What inspired you to be part of such a wide array of clubs? “I was always excited to try something new and see what I was passionate about.”
Why was senior Homecoming your favorite Boone memory? “Senior Homecoming for me just embodies everything that high school was about. I was with my friends all night, laughing, going on adventures, and time just felt like it was slow.”
Describe your senior year in three words. “So much fun. That is it. I just had so much fun every day.”
How do you define success? How did Boone help you reach this? “To me, success is about being able to find something that you love, and doing it for the rest of your life. Boone gave me the stepping stones to not only make life long friends, but also go on to the next steps in my life, and for that, I am forever grateful.”
What was your deciding factor while picking the college you will attend? Why? “UF is an amazing school, and is legacy for me.”
What do you hope to get out of your college experience? “I hope to find what I want to do in the long run. I am not someone who has my whole life planned out and knows exactly what I want to do, but hopefully, college will spark something within me.”
What do you plan to do with your future? What goals do you have? “I am going to UF for my Economics degree, then I will get my MBA somewhere, and I will see where this all takes me. I do not really have an end goal just yet, but I am also 18. I have time to figure it out.”