By Travis Smola
The Vicksburg school board and principal Adam Brush honored the class of 2019’s top seniors at the school board’s April meeting.
“The top 12 GPA was all above 4.1,” Brush said. “This class of the top 12 took over a hundred AP courses, which to me, is like mind-boggling.”
The students:
Nicholas Armitage scored a 1350 on his SAT and took nine AP courses, played trumpet for seven years and was NHS treasurer. He plans to attend Kettering University in Flint where he will study electrical engineering and computer science.
Jacob Cleaver scored 1440 on the SAT and took 13 AP classes. He spent four years in the Big Red Machine. He was also an Excellence in Education Scholarship winner and chose Ben Rosier as his significant educator for his passion for teaching music to students. Cleaver plans to attend the University of Michigan next year.
Rachel Dick took 10 AP courses, was involved in model United Nations, theater and National Honor Society. She also works at the Vicksburg library and plans to attend Michigan Tech to study science and engineering. She plans to minor in Spanish.
Maia Fleck is a four-year student of KAMSC and was the winner of outstanding research project. Fleck wasn’t present at the meeting because she was at a tennis meet. She also participated in de-tasseling for four straight summers.
Madeline Geiger took 11 AP courses. She was involved in Student Senate and Aim Higher, a volunteer youth group at the high school. She was captain of the girls’ basketball team. She enjoys walking and running. Geiger also helped referee and coach youth basketball. She will attend WMU.
Salutatorian Casey Hall took 12 AP courses. He was a Presidential Award winner for WMU. He also ran track, played tennis and football. He was an Excellence in Education Scholarship winner and chose Rachel King as his significant educator because of the time she spent helping him figure out what he wanted to do with his future.
Kyle Kelly took 10 AP courses and was a four-year scholar athlete. Kelly was involved in National Honor Society, DECA an Ski Club. He also served as captain of the lacrosse and cross-country team. He also worked with the lacrosse youth program and helped with Alzheimer’s patients. He plans to attend Iowa State or Purdue.
Mia Mulhearn took 12 AP courses and was a four-year scholar athlete. She served as NHS President and was involved in marching band and drum major. She also earned eight varsity letters and was the YWCA Women of Achievement Award Winner for Vicksburg. Mulhearn plans to attend Ohio State next year.
Valedictorian Madeline Ritter earned many college credits via KVCC courses. She also volunteered at the animal rescue at Tobey Elementary, where she enjoys walking the dogs. She was also an Excellence in Education Scholarship winner and chose Virginia Ruimveld as her significant educator for pushing her academically. Ritter said she plans to attend WMU.
Vic Simmons: scored a 1400 on the SAT and took nine AP courses. Simmons served as National Art Honor Society president and helped with the mural in the library. Simmons also enjoys pet-sitting and plans to attend the James Madison Residential College for political science at Michigan State University next year.
Alexis Taylor is a member of National Honor Society and served as junior class president and senior class vice president. She also participated in many volunteer opportunities with Sunset Elementary students and planned prom last year. Taylor plans to attend KVCC for a year before moving to Florida to study veterinary science at the University of Central Florida.
Tyler Vallier took 12 AP courses and plays on the varsity baseball team. He also volunteered at Sunset Lake Elementary. Vallier was an Excellence in Education scholarship winner and chose Kristina Porter as his significant educator for the time she spent helping him plan his future. He plans to attend the University of Michigan next year.
The board also recognized Leah Pierce as the DAR Good Citizen Award winner. Pierce took seven AP courses and served on band leadership for four years. She also volunteered at the middle school and in library summer reading programs. Pierce plans to attend Grand Valley State University to pursue pre-veterinary studies before continuing her education at Michigan State.