The 2015 Valedictorian Aaditya Rawal, self-described as “sarcastic, funny, helpful, and tall” explains that his title is a “nice added bonus” to his already robust high school career.

It doesn’t take much to see why Aaditya deserves this award. Throughout his time at Prairie Ridge, Aaditya was involved in marching band, scholastic bowl, speech team, math team, WYSE, French club and French NHS, varsity tennis, and sound crew for the fall play. In addition to his outside activities, Aaditya
says he “enjoys sports–either playing or watching them.”

His favorite classes were AP U.S. History and AP Psychology. “For tough tests,” he notes, he would wear “a red polo shirt and khaki pants” as a good luck charm.

Despite the intensity of his academics and extracurriculars, Aaditya says that his secret to success was “being involved in a lot of different ways,” which kept him busy. That way, he explains, “I couldn’t procrastinate.”

To Aaditya, the most challenging aspect of earning the recognition of being first in his class was not the myriad of activities he participated in, but
“trying to keep up with the expectations that came along with it.”

In the fall, Aaditya will attend the University of Chicago, where he will major in molecular engineering. “I’m pretty confident,” Aaditya explains about his future. “For the most part, it’s going to work out.”

Aaditya’s advice for underclassmen is to choose fun activities that interest you. “Don’t do it because others tell you to,” he says. “Keep
yourselves busy and do stuff you enjoy.”