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River Dell’s 2023 Salutatorian: Shara VanPraagh
Continued from page 1 also mentions how fortunate she is to have grown up in a “tight-knit” community and extends her gratitude to her guidance counselor, teachers, and friends for the support they have provided her during her time at River Dell. focus on school.”
In a few months, Audrey will be attending the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a major in Biology.
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Congratulations Audrey! We know you are headed toward a bright and prosperous future!
As much as she strives to achieve good grades, Shara knows the importance of having a balance between school and social life, which she credits her parents for. She shares, “My parents always reminded me that success was about happiness and keeping a balance in life, which was instrumental in my attitude toward school.
I have always been a perfectionist that puts a lot of pressure on myself, so having parents that celebrated my accomplishments no matter what, rather than putting additional pressure on me, showed me that I was more than just a number or a grade. They would remind me that enjoying life and having a healthy balance was always the number one priority.” Shara is especially appreciative of her friends and classmates as well, with whom she made many great memories over the years.
When she’s not studying or partaking in extracurriculars, Shara enjoys listening to music by Noah Kahan, The Lumineers, and Taylor Swift. Her favorite childhood book is The One and Only Ivan, and her favorite movie is Mamma Mia! At River
Dell, her favorite class has been AP Chemistry, which “might sound daunting but Dr. McNamara makes it so fun and manageable.”
Shara plans to attend Lehigh University this fall, where she will study industrial & systems engineering and cognitive science to pursue her goal of becoming a human factors engineer. To River Dell, she says “Thank you for a great four years!”
River Dell High School is proud to have Shara as the class of 2023’s salutatorian and wishes her the best with her exciting, bright road ahead!
