Having completed her senior year with a cumulative GPA of 4.6, A’s in countless AP and Honors courses, and an overall stellar personal and academic record, Senior Charlott Vallon’s title of 2011’s salutatorian is nothing but well-deserved.
Throughout the past four years, Charlott has managed to juggle various AP classes, sports, and clubs, as well as maintain a life outside of school. She participates in her share of academic-related extracurricular activities, such as Science Olympiad and Cross Country, and spends time on writing, or at least starting, her own novels. “I write about anything. I love when I’m just making the story up, when you can do whatever you want,” said Charlott. During her freshman and sophomore years, Charlott was an active member of Cross-Country, and is “still really involved” with the team. Recently, she was also a part of Science Olympiad, where she scored in the Towers, Optics, and Chemistry Lab events.
As expected of a salutatorian, Charlott went above and beyond with her class choices, deciding to continue subjects most students give up on once their requirement is filled. For example, Villon has taken both French and Spanish classes, for total of 12 semesters of foreign language, and math all four years, more than completing the California A-G standards. “I’ve kind of experienced that kind of bi-cultural thing, and that’s really worked to my advantage,” she said, “and I kept with math, which was also really good for me.” In addition to her Spanish and French classes, she is fluent in both English and German, and took the AP German test Sophomore year.
“I’ve worked hard,” she said, “and I pay attention, or at least try to. I just have a good balance [between school and friends].” In fact, Charlott, who has spent innumerable hours working in AP and Honors courses, considers bonding with fellow classmates the most important and influential thing high school has given her. “I’ve met really, really cool people, who I’ve become friends with for a long time,” she said.
After her salutatory speech is given and her high school career completed, Charlott will attend the University of California, Berkeley, recently ranked the number-one public university in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 guide to “America’s Best Colleges,” according to the US News online newspaper (usnew.com). There, with a full-ride scholarship, she will major in mechanical engineering. “I don’t really have much experience,” said Charlott, “but I like physics, and I always knew I wanted to do something involving math.” Mechanical Engineering is a very open field that also lends itself to a creative and social environment, which sets it apart in Charlott’s eyes.
As for now, all there is left for her to do is reflect on her high school career and how it has influenced her thus far. University City has allowed Charlott to “figure out what [she] want[s] to do,” and has opened her door to new experiences and people. To her, achieving the status of salutatorian, while a great honor, was but an added bonus to what her years at UCHS have given her.