Valedictorian: Victoria VanDyke '22

The Valedictorian for the Class of 2022 is Victoria VanDyke!

Victoria VanDyke came to R-MA in the fall of 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have two brothers, one of whom is going into the sixth grade,” said Victoria. “My parents thought it would be important for my brother to be in school where he could learn in person and see people’s faces. I decided that it would be best for me and my family to be together...so I followed him to R-MA. I was a little less dedicated to my studies [then]. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life or where I wanted to attend college,” she reflected.

Once she arrived on campus, Victoria hit the ground running. She enrolled in multiple AP and honors classes. She joined the varsity volleyball team, and in 2021-22 she became a co-captain and was named Most Valuable Player. She became president of the National Honor Society and a member of the history, science, and math honor societies. She joined Cadre as a senior, taking on the role of Athletics Officer, she was elected Homecoming Queen for 2022 - all while she helped her family launch a small business.

As class valedictorian, Victoria had the honor of speaking at Graduation. She offered the gathered audience three lessons she learned from her time at R-MA.

First: shine your shoes, because “it makes you feel good about how you look and gives you confidence in yourself.” she said. “Whatever life throws at you, face it with a pair of shiny shoes.” Second: Be accountable. “This school is all about accountability,” Victoria acknowledged. “It taught me to take control of my life.” And third: don’t shy away from leadership. “This school is second to none in giving its students the opportunity to lead,” she reflected.

“We are so ready for what is next,” she said of the Class of 2022. “I once said that coming to this school was the best decision of my life. I could not have been more right...Randolph-Macon Academy is the reason we will put every ounce of determination we can into making our lives everything we envisioned.”

Victoria thanks her parents “for pushing me to work my hardest,” her friends “for telling me that it is not a good idea to senior slide,” and teachers like Mr. Barr, Dr. Cousineau, and Ms. Moore “for making sure I was challenged and pushed to my limits.”

She will attend the University of Virginia in the fall, and hopes to become a dermatologist.