Salute to Valedictorians 2015
GEMMILL
Parents: Jon and Deanne Gemmill Middle School: Will James Elementary School: Burlington Future Plans: Attend Montana State University in Bozeman and double major in Microbioogy (premed track) and English writing. Then continue to medical school to become a pediatric cardiologist. Most Challenging or Rewarding Class: I would say AP Calculus this year has been the most challenging class this year. Math usually comes pretty easy to me, but I really struggled in Calculus and had to work extremely hard to maintain my A. I’m very proud that my efforts in that class have paid off. Teacher: My 1st grade teacher, Ms. Bauer, had the greatest positive impact on my life. Although I was young when I had her, she saw potential in me and always encouraged me to do better and challenged me. She made me believe in my abilities and gave me confidence as well as a love for education. Extracurricular Activities: Team Up for St. Jude, Cross-Country, West High Mentoring, National Honors Society, Ski Club, Spanish Club, Softball, Montana Office of Public Instruction Advisory Board member.
Malia
GESUALE
Jeff Hosa Photography
FARR
Parents: Shawn and Luba Farr Middle School: Will James Elementary School: Meadowlark Future Plans: Pursue a Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy Most Challenging or Rewarding Class: My Honors Chemistry class, as it allowed me to mix math, chemistry, and labs all at once and led me to win numerous awards in the Billings Clinic Science Fair. Teacher: While many teachers have positively impacted my education, my Honors Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Field, had the greatest impact. She has a great teaching style, good character, fun personality, genuine care for her students, and always encourages them to do their best whether in the classroom or outside of it. Extracurricular Activities: National Honors Society, Youth Leadership Billings, Montana All State Orchestra, Billings Youth Orchestra, Private violin lessons
Jana
Sammy Oxendahl
DUTTON
Parents: Kurt and Karen Dutton Middle School: Lewis and Clark Elementary School: Miles Avenue Future Plans: I plan to attend Montana State University, majoring in Chemical Engineering. Most Challenging or Rewarding Class: Chemistry was my most rewarding class; I enjoyed it enough to choose it as a major. Teacher: Coach Bloomquist has pushed me to do my best. Extracurricular Activities: Track: 4 years, Cross-Country: 4 years, Orchestra: 4 years, and National Honor Society
Lana
Courtesy of the Farr family
Timothy
Courtesy of the Dutton family
West high school
Parents: Peter and Patty Gesuale Middle School: Lewis and Clark Elementary School: Miles Avenue Future Plans: I plan to study both engineering physics and social policy. Most Challenging or Rewarding Class: AP US History was wonderfully challenging. I loved working with questions that have no one “right answer” and examining the social, political, and economic implications of each push and pull of history. Teacher: Ms. Nancy Heald was the first great English teacher I had in my K-12 education. She helped my love of literature and writing, which for two years had taken a back seat to math and science, grow again to its full strength. I cannot express enough how much this has meant to me; without her the past few years would have been very different. Extracurricular Activities: I was a Student Ambassador to Cambodia through an AYLP, State Department program, have been a member of Amnesty International two years, climbed with Steep Team six years, and tutored mathematics for four years.
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