High School is different than any other type of grade because everything begins to matter. The grade made in freshman year gym will be seen by college four years later. A few bad grades will add up and could alter the college decision process. However, when most students are trying to get by, a few students are trying to be the greatest.
Justin Palpant, sophomore, is one of the few students who has a lot to live up to in high school. Tim Palpant, Justin’s older brother graduated in 2008 as valedictorian. Tim maintained a 5.0937GPA and is now attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Justin is in the 2012 graduating class and has already taken a hard freshman and sophomore year. Like his brother, he is succeeding and plans to continue his great accomplishments.
Most students would assume that a valedictorian’s little brother would be under a great deal of pressure to succeed. “I was never pressured to do as well as my brother by my parents, but there were always expectations to try my best and work hard,” said Justin.
Without having over-bearing parents, Justin finds school more enjoyable and perhaps easier. “Most of the pressure I feel comes from myself because I do want to do well in school,” said Justin.
However, Justin does want to do as well as his brother. “I always admired my brother for being able to handle an extremely difficult school schedule, a job, and other commitments such as clubs by managing his time well.”
This time management has in turn made high school easier because he has seen firsthand how to do it. “Tim has served as an example and given me goals to reach for,” continued Justin.
Justin has created a course schedule, which if done well, will put him in the running for the 2012 valedictorian. “I know that many of the courses I want to take are courses that he took in high school, so my GPA will most likely be close to his.”
