For the class of 2024, in no particular order, our top contenders for Valedictorian are…Isabel Richey, Sierra Jacobo, Sanaa Comer, and Michelle Calderon. Although our #1 student hasn’t been confirmed yet, we here at The Paper Cut are extremely proud of this female powerhouse for the years of hard work and effort that has been put into this highly competitive and coveted honor.

When it comes to wanting to be the valedictorian of your class, it’s not an easy feat. “I would just say it took a lot of perseverance in general because I went through COVID my freshman year and that hit a lot of kids really hard. And I would just keep reminding myself to not give up, and I’m glad I didn’t because, you know, I probably wouldn’t have been where I was. Because there was a point where I was like ‘Ah, it’s fine, I don’t want to be first.’ And then it’s just telling yourself that I do have the ability and that I should keep going,” Isabel Richey said.

Being valedictorian comes with lots of challenges, one of those being arduous AP classes. Let’s see which ones were the toughest for our top scholars.

Isabel said, “I would say either AP Bio or AP Calculus mainly because those are just hard subjects in general, but also because those two teachers, Mr. Collingwood and Mr. Rutherford, definitely push more than the other teachers do.”

Sanaa said, “Probably Chemistry, or AP Government.”

Michelle said, “Probably AP Calculus or AP Chem because calculus was just a hard concept to grasp and then chemistry is just very workloaded and time-consuming, but they’re both good.”

Sierra said, “I would probably say AP Language with Ms. Watters. That class was really challenging just because there was a lot of complex analysis in that.”

Despite taking APs, and just overall being challenged in school, our top scholars are active in the community as well. Isabel played basketball for 2 years, has been on varsity volleyball for 4 years, and has played tenor sax and French horn in advanced band all 4 years. Sanaa has been to 3 different schools over the course of high school, but that hasn’t stopped her from getting great grades and staying active. “I was on Sahuaro, Cienega, and UHS’s varsity basketball teams. I was a part of UHS’s Black Student Union, and I’m secretary of Sahuaro’s. And then I was a manager for track at Sahuaro,” Sanaa explained. Although Michelle isn’t involved in many things around Sahuaro, she is in fact an extremely passionate and dedicated book club member. Student Council keeps Sierra busy. She explained, “I’m Student Body President and I played a lot of sports my sophomore year.” However, once Sierra got a job, she decided it was best to quit soccer, volleyball, and tennis.

Every student stays on track differently, so take some inspiration from these strategies!

Isabel explained, “People think that you have to study four hours of homework every night – it’s not. It’s just being personal with your teachers because if teachers know you’re a good student, and you turn something in late one day, they’ll let it slide. But it’s just more being a good student overall, not acting out in class, doing your work on time, and usually it’s pretty easy on you.”

Sanaa said, “My phone, probably. I use my notes and every week I’ll make a to-do list and as I’m done with all my assignments, as I’m going, I’ll just check it off to make sure I’m staying on track.”

Michelle said, “I just try to make sure to turn everything in on time. I don’t really have a set schedule, I just kinda do it as it comes and try to work around my work schedule too.”

Sierra said, “I would say, when I come to school, it’s important to put everything else away, and just make sure I get my work done in a timely manner. And communicate with teachers. I miss a lot of school for Student Council. It’s just making sure that I don’t fall behind too quickly.”

Obviously, school is stressful enough as is, but with APs and striving to be valedictorian on top of that, you’ll put a lot of (sometimes unnecessary) pressure on yourself. It is important to manage that stress in a healthy manner, which is something our top scholars had to deal with.

Isabel said, “I think stress is pretty good for me when it comes to school because stress tells me that I need to get the work done, and that’s when I actually get the drive to get my stuff done because I’m stressing that I’m not going to get an A in the class. So I would say that I use stress as a tool.  I just let it get me through my classes instead of letting it cripple me.”

Siera said, “I think that one is just communicating with your teachers and establishing a good relationship with them. They’re here to help you, and you can’t really succeed without them sometimes.”

Post graduation, our seniors have very bright plans ahead.

Isabel is currently enrolled at the U of A, where she will be doing 4 years of undergrad in pre-law. She then plans on transferring to Harvard Law. Sanaa is going to NAU where she got admitted into their pre-dental program. Michelle plans on going to the U of A and studying something either in the medical or financial field. Sierra will be studying astronomy at the U of A.

Sahuaro’s top 4 scholars of 2024 are an extremely smart, creative, and hardworking set of individuals. While only one can be valedictorian, they all worked extremely hard to be where they are today and all deserve recognition for their achievements!