“Being Valedictorian is just the capstone of four years of hard work,” explained Amanda. “It means the culmination of high school and the beginning of what my future can be.”
The road to becoming valedictorian was definitely challenging, yet Amanda believes that her secret of success is hard work. “I challenged myself and tried very hard,” she stated. “As long as you work at it, you’ll get what you want.”
However, hard work was not the only factor to her achievement. “I set my priorities,” described Amanda. “School always came first for me. I don’t have a job, so it was easy to focus on it.”
Though she is number one in her class, Amanda Weber humbly believes that “being first doesn’t change anything. I’m just an average person who likes to read and wants more sleep. I’m just as scared about college as everybody else.”
Amanda is not only intelligent and hardworking, but she also is an extremely well-rounded individual, participating in extracurricular activities such as band, marching band, choir, track, National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, and yearbook. Apart from school activities, she sings in her church choir, volunteers at various organizations, and is part of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which is her church youth group.
“Trying to balance everything is my biggest challenge,” said Amanda. “But my extracurriculars help me with that.” Amanda explained that if not for her after-school activities, she would not have completed her homework as quickly.
Out of her plethora of activities, track has always been the most influential for Amanda. She loves running because it “clears her head.” As a varsity sprinter for all four years of high school and a captain for the past two years, Amanda describes how she has learned more about leadership and confidence through her experiences. Some of her fondest memories include “going down to state even though I wasn’t running, sectionals last year, and just practices with my friends and coaches who understand me.” Next year, Amanda will pursue track in college.
In addition to managing school, her social life, and activities, Amanda loves to read. She reads whenever she can sneak a minute in, whether it may be before she leaves for school, during breakfast, or before she goes to bed. “I love to read because I love losing myself in a whole other world,” she described. “Authors just know how to write the truth so beautifully. My favorite types of books are realistic fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, and memoir.”
Next year, Amanda will be attending DePauw University with an undecided major. As she leaves PR, she advises students to “work hard but allow yourself to have fun. Get involved with things you like to do. Everything will work out.”
