[slideshow_deploy id=’61718′] As a captain of Bravettes, and a member of Mu Alpha Theta, Math Club, National Honor Society and Senior Class Council, as well as a Math lab tutor, youth group volunteer, two advanced placement classes and a job, senior Amy Willsey had to keep organized to maintain her good grades.
Willsey has a 4.75 weighted grade point average and will graduate with nine others as a valedictorian.
“I’m definitely an organized person. It helps to have a schedule and choose the number of activities, but not push myself too much. [I also] pick my activities that can work with each other with enough time to do homework,” Willsey said.
Maintaining a balanced schedule was one of Willsey’s greatest struggles, but her allergies were her biggest, yet to trump that, last year she suffered from pneumonia and had to miss school. She feels fortunate that her teacher worked with her, which allowed her to maintain an A in all of her classes. She is especially grateful to one of her favorite teachers, Glenn Listort, whom she had for AP Chemistry at the time.
“Mr. Listort is a very passionate teacher who truly cares about his students. I really appreciate his dedication to teaching in a way that just makes sense, and he keeps us entertained with jokes and funny sayings. He helped me individually whenever I needed it, especially when I was very ill my junior year. I had him for two years and learned so much from him,” Willsey said.
While Willsey has numerous fond memories on campus, her most memorable was performing at her first football game with the Bravettes. She had just made the team her freshman year and performed at the spring Pink and White football game.
“I remember feeling a rush of excitement as I danced. I will remember this feeling forever,” Willsey said.
Fulfilling her goal of being a valedictorian, Willsey feels it was balance, as well as her parent’s support, that help her be successful.
“Work hard in your classes and try your best for good grades, but don’t forget to have fun in high school. Time with friends and social activities are the memories you will want to remember, not staying up all night studying,” Willsey said.
Willsey will be attending the University of Central Florida in the fall and is planning to major in health science.
“I am definitely interested in the medical field, but I am exploring my options. Health Sciences (pre-clinical track) is an alternative to pre-med that encompasses several areas, and does not tie a person down to a pre-med undergraduate degree. My goals with this major are to either pursue a career in hospital administration/management, radiology or optometry,” Willsey said.