- March 29, 2024
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It’s time for another class of graduating ’Cats to cross the finish line. Winter Park High School seniors will walk the stage in the CFE Arena at the University of Central Florida to collect their diplomas on Thursday, May 28. Leading the crowd of cloaked and capped Wildcats will be the class of 2015’s 17 valedictorians. Keep reading to meet the soon-to-be graduates who ranked in at the top of their class.
Emmaleigh Lenfest likes a challenge, and the spur-of-the-moment charge of getting something right the first time. She's the executive producer of the Wildcat Network, the Winter Park High School student-run news.
“There aren't any do-overs, which I find to be very exciting,” she said. A member of at least eight clubs and honor societies, the hopeful producer or director likes the anticipation of a job that keeps her on her toes. “It's not something that's going to get boring,”
Emmaleigh is one of this year's 17 endeavoring valedictorians at WPHS. Out of 700 students, these future surgeons and entrepreneurs have big goals on the horizon waiting to be fulfilled. Coupled with superb grades, these achievers have a diverse list of extracurriculars and also have a passion for giving back to their communities.
Along with a 5.23-weighted GPA, student body president Paul Gruber has a bevy of creative hobbies in his back pocket. He bakes in his free time, and brings a tray of chocolate cupcakes to school “just because.”
He also volunteers at a residential facility for dementia sufferers, plays the cello and aspires to be an engineer.
His video-editing skills aren’t too shabby either. His parody of Taylor Swift's “Blank Space” has more than 700,000 views on YouTube.
Ranked second in her class with a 5.35 weighted GPA, Willa Qu's broad interests make her a bit unsure about where she wants to go to college, but her major is a tie between computer science and psychology. The video game-loving, crafty teen creates art journals as birthday gifts for friends. And her favorite way to study? Cramming for half an hour per night.
Matthew Kuhl has been a Boy Scout for as long as he can remember. Memories of hiking trails shaped his appreciation for nature and all its mysteries. The outdoorsy future University of Alabama microbiology major wants to be in the lab and on the field; he likes to stay active and even swing dances in his spare time.
“The smallest things are things we know the least about,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye, about his intrigue for the world.
Since he started high school, Michael Dennis has had his eye on the prize.
“I wanna be my own boss,” he said in a tough, smooth voice. “Make my own set of rules to follow.”
The crew team member has his focus on balancing school with rigorous rowing, and he will be attending Rollins College for business on the Dean's Scholarship.
As for what business he wants to spearhead exactly, he hasn't made his mind up just yet, but he knows it has to be something he loves that is aligned with his values.
Seyda Altunal's compassion resonates in her voice.
“Since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a doctor,” she said. Her grandfather endured a bypass surgery three years ago, an experience that pushed her to pursue a long-time goal of studying medicine. The future neurosurgeon will attend University of Pittsburgh.
“Everyone should have a purpose … and I want to help people have a better life,” she said.
Seyda said she was torn between cardiology and neurology, but decided on the brain since it's the “mother of everything.”
“There's more to life than school,” David Huynh said. He has a passion for community service, and it's evident in his love for walk-a-thons and fundraisers. The most recent one he walked aimed to raise money for a Vietnamese children's ministry in Cambodia. And although he said he's a bit shy and introverted, the frequent volunteer likes to try to break out of his comfort zone whenever he can.
In his spare time, the All County Orchestra violinist likes to research random topics based on his own curious whims — like whether or not ants sleep.
Karen Sun handles stress with finesse. The talented student has been playing violin for 15 years and is a member of 10 different honor societies and clubs — and she juggles these all while earning a 5.32 GPA. She's shooting for Vanderbilt University and wants to become a trauma surgeon, a goal that might seem daunting for some, but which she mentions confidently.
“It's all encompassing, and since I handle stress pretty well, I can process things faster,” she said.
Caitlin Dirkes' big heart reflects not only in the close-knit ties she keeps with family — she's going to study engineering at the University of Central Florida to stay close to home — but also with the amount of free time she spends volunteering at a local program for deaf children. She has a love for sharing lighthearted conversations with the kids in sign language.
“I try to go back as many times as I can to help them because they're so sweet,” she said.
Angela Jimenez’s reserved nature shouldn't fool anyone. Winter Park's resolute NJROTC cadet commanding officer is a determined and driven soon-to-be first-generation college student.
“I learned a lot about leadership — understanding how to be a leader ... and have strong character, despite being quiet and shy,” she said about serving as officer. Her dream career is working in a hospital after pursuing a biomedical engineering degree.
For Jordan King, living with Tourette syndrome and sensory processing disorder made her want to immerse herself in learning more about people with similar disabilities.
“Different is scary, and I think that's caused a lot of stigma about people with disabilities,” she said. But Jordan isn't afraid; she finds them endearing. “They just want to love people,” she said.
When she isn't studying, she spends her spare time at the Russell Home, a center for handicapped children. At Florida Southern College, she wants to delve into psychology and work with developmentally disabled children and adults.
Merin Thomas walks in the room exuding wit and scrutiny, asking if the Observer had read all the students' press releases. The ambitious super senior has already helped spearhead a biophotonics research project at UCF. And amid all the undergraduates presenting their research, she was the only high school student. But her ultimate goal? Attaining a Ph.D and becoming an ophthalmologist.
“Eyes are so interesting — there's so much you can see in them,” she said. “I've always valued sight so much.”
She not only ranks first in her class with a 5.41 GPA, but has been the school's Relay for Life team captain every year since she was a freshman, and is president of the UNICEF club.
Xiong-Fei Du has a keen eye for structure. Since he was a kid, he’s built cities and monorail systems from simple Legos. And aside from the colorful building blocks, he even builds his own computers using junk parts sitting in his garage. It comes as no surprise that he aspires to take his contriving skills to the next level to study mechanical engineering.
“Sometimes, what's most valuable is junk — junk is the treasure,” he said with a smile.
When the Observer came to his school, William Smyrk was playing in a tennis competition. The varsity tennis team captain has his sights set on attending the University of Florida to follow in his Gator family's footsteps. He wrote that his dream career would be a CEO of an innovative business.
Three more Wildcat valedictorians were unavailable the day the Observer arrived on campus for interviews:
Joseph Deatrick, an Orange County Public Schools Super Scholar and Winter Park soccer goalie, is headed to the University of California at Berkeley in the fall.
Nicolette DeLorenzo may have some pretty huge highlights to her dancing career already, including her DanzForce Extreme team pulling off a near-perfect score at a big competition two weeks ago, but she’s really excited to be joining Wake Forest’s dance team in the fall.
Molly Kennedy took extracurriculars by storm, playing soccer, volunteering in the Beta Club, National Science Honor Society and more. She’s heading to the University of Florida, with hopes of graduating in the class of 2019.