‘23
Every year, Indian Hills Administration chooses two students who best represent the highest degree of academic achievement to represent the graduating class during the Commencement ceremony. This year, Jessica Strickland and Christine Peng have been selected as the Class of 2023’s valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.
Jessica Strickland has proudly been named this year’s valedictorian, as reflective of her years of hard work and dedication. Jessy will be attending the University of Chicago next fall, she describes it as her “dream school”, to study Physics. Set in the city of Chicago, UChicago provides one of the most academically elite experiences for students in the United States. She provides credit to those who have positively affected her high school experience, “…all of my teachers at Hills have equally affected my high school experience, but I would like to have a special shout out to the teachers that have had me as a student for two years: Mr. Cornetto, Mrs. McGowan, and Mrs. Frissora.”
As we can learn from students who exhibit such leadership skills and academic excellence, Jessy advises, “my greatest achievement was being able to enjoy high school even with the stress of becoming valedictorian, with great friends, classes, and extracurriculars.” This trend has been shared by many past valedictorians alike, who stress the importance of balance in high school.
Behind students like Jessy is a strong support system whose desire is to motivate and encourage students toward excellence. She chose to highlight her motivators, “I would say my greatest motivator is myself and my desire to learn what I can so I can make a change in the world,” and the encouragement provided by her parents to “do my best”.
Christine Peng, Class of 2023, has been named this year’s salutatorian. Christine will be attending Brown University to pursue a degree in Environmental Science and English this coming fall. Brown, located in Providence, Rhode Island, is a part of the elite group of East Coast “Ivy League” schools. She stresses the reason for her success, “I continue to pursue education to this degree because I love learning, and to be honest, I’m not used to holding myself up to any other standard. I think it wouldn’t feel like myself to always strive for the best.” It is an eye-awakening experience to watch students, who have placed so much time and effort into their education, become accredited.
Impeccably, Christine accredits much of her success to those teachers and faculty members who have impacted her experience. “There are so many teachers, administrators, and of course my wonderful guidance counselor Mrs. Carangelo who has affected my high school experience to the greatest degree.”
Outside of the classroom, Christine is an active member of Indian Hills and the community beyond. She details her greatest achievement as, “…helping the Give and Grow project with Horticulture and INTERACT go through, transforming the garden and successfully donating produce…I got to see firsthand how many pounds of produce we got to donate last year, and I hope it continues!” This program, along with the assistance of students like Christine, has transformed the Indian Hills community into one focused on charitable donations. The gardens here have produced locally grown produce, then donated it to those in need. Christine further discussed this program by thanking, “…Mrs. Funk, the INTERACT director, for providing me with so many different opportunities and taking the time out of her summer to guide me in the garden as we first embarked on the Give and Grow journey in 2022. She taught me how to handle every aspect of the garden, from pulling out the weeds, to watering the potatoes, to trimming the tomato plants.”
As the senior class’ experience comes to a close, it is a great opportunity to recognize students’ excellence. Jessica Strickland and Christine Peng represent academic excellence and an extreme propensity to learn. Please take a moment to recognize the hard work and dedication of these two elite students.