Valedictorian, an honor awarded for a four-year commitment culminating in the highest GPA in the Senior Class. With tough competition, this requires hard work, dedication, and a sinceret desire for success. Senior Cissy Letter has all of these traits and more, making her achievement of the 2022 UC High Valedictorian title well-deserved.

“It feels so amazing! I’ve worked really hard throughout high school to take difficult classes, get good grades, and maintain my rank, so it feels great to have earned this title,” said Letter. Letter has taken several extra classes along with other responsibilities, going above and beyond when it comes to just about everything. She has taken seven AP classes, seven honors classes, and seven college classes.

Letter has always loved school. “I always want to challenge myself, so each year I tried to take difficult classes that I knew I would enjoy. I even took classes over the summer both for fun and to make more room in my schedule for other classes I was interested in,” said Letter. Becoming Valedictorian is all about challenges and commitmen, andt Letter is definitely a person to challenge herself.

Letter is also actively involved in clubs and is currently co-president of three: HOSA, CSF, and Casas de Luz. She was also Class Secretary/Treasurer during her junior year. Regarding Casas de Luz, Letter said, “I have been in the club since my freshman year and have participated in three house builds and one tiny cottage build. Each trip I have gone on has been so much fun, and I will always remember the time I spent with my peers as well as the impact I have made.” Letter is happy to help others and be involved, always going the extra mile for anybody that needs an extra hand.

Letter is also a peer tutor, helping fellow UC High students in Math Academy and working with another organization outside of school (Kid by Kid) where she tutors first to eighth graders in math, reading, and writing. She has always enjoyed teaching others both in and out of class,  putting others before herself.

Letter played varsity tennis all four years of high school and varsity lacrosse for three years. She said, “I even played a season of basketball with my friends for fun.” She added, “One of my all-time favorite things about high school is winning the girls tennis CIF Championship.” Definitely being part of such a big achievement created a lifelong memory.

Science Teacher Justin Nguyen said, “Cissy is an outstanding student, leader, and athlete. Incredibly, she’s able to balance her student life, her leadership in clubs, and her participation in sports while also excelling in all of those aspects. It amazes me that she was able to be the best tennis player on the team, while still maintaining her intense workload and managing to be Valedictorian at our school.” Letter is definitely a hard worker.

“Cissy was in charge of many of the events that took place with the team. She knew that after COVID, the team desperately needed the opportunity to bond and maintain the traditions that we’d had in the past. So, she would plan monthly bonding activities with the team. You could tell that her teammates had a lot of respect for her, from the way they listened to her to the way they talked about her. During her Senior Night, the other players spent weeks planning to make it special for her and the other seniors, because they knew they would miss them,” said Nguyen.  Letter is well-loved by her teammates.

Letter said, “The most impactful thing I have learned is the importance of being organized and on top of everything. Without setting a schedule, it is very easy to procrastinate and fall behind, leading to immense amounts of stress that could have easily been avoided.” Letter also values the importance of finding the time to relax and have fun with her friends and family, as she knows how harmful stress can be.

After four years of hard work and dedication, Letter is graduating with a 4.89 cumulative GPA and will be attending University of California, Berkeley in the fall with the plan to major in business administration at the Haas Undergraduate School of Business. Letter said, “I started out in the Biomed pathway, but in recent years have had the opportunity to take some business classes, and I have really enjoyed them.” Thanks to her incredible skill set and excellent time management, Letter is the undeniable 2022 UC High Valedictorian.