Simran Kumar, Valedictorian
Where are you going to college and what are you majoring in?
I will be attending USF and my major is biomedical sciences.
What are you most excited for about going to college?
Probably the new experiences I’m gonna have, new friends and a change in scenery from our small town.
When you realized you’d be top two in your class, how did you react?
I found out the day of my senior breakfast and I was so sure I was gonna be number two. They handed me my card, I saw that I was number one and I instantly started crying. The first thing I could think of was to call my dad and let him know I was number one.
How did you manage your time to balance all your work and succeed like you did?
My family and friends pushing me forward. I enjoyed going to every class. I only took classes I found interesting.
What’s one thing you wish you knew about high school in advance?
I wish I knew to begin my freshman year by finding what I love, going into high school knowing I really enjoyed math and science. I really started working hard junior and senior year, but I feel like if I started freshman year I could have taken more classes and challenged myself more.
What was your favorite moment of high school?
My robotics team placing first out of 12 teams in a competition. We were kind of an underdog. All that hard work paid off. Semifinals with Plant HS, I looked at my team like “This is it, we’re about to win.” That was in January this year.
What was the most challenging thing about having COVID-19 disrupt your senior year?
Not ending the year with my close friends and finishing my classes. We missed nine weeks of content and I didn’t get to finish those classes. I really enjoy learning and that’s been hard. I do miss seeing my friends and having those last moments of my senior year — those memories I won’t be able to recreate. But my friends will still be there.
What’s the best thing you learned from a teacher?
My AP Physics 1 teacher taught me you always can be the driving force of whatever you’re going into. You need a driving force, you need a passion to make sure everything you do, you give 100 percent and you’re doing it for yourself.
What do you hope to do in life after college?
After I get my bachelors I plan on going to medical school and complete residency, find something I really enjoy. I know I want to help people when I grow up, I just don’t know exactly which specialty.
What’s one message you’d like to share with your fellow graduates?
Find whatever your passion is and run with it. Never stop trying. You’ll find whatever you’re looking for.
Kyle Hamilton, Salutatorian
Where are you going to college and what are you majoring in?
I’m going to UF and I plan to double major in both women’s and gender studies and cellular and molecular biology. It’s a mouthful.
What are you most excited for about going to college?
Meeting new people, definitely.
When you realized you’d be top two in your class, how did you react?
It was rewarding. It was like a weird experience because all four years led to that one moment. It was surreal at the breakfast when they announced it.
How did you manage your time to balance all your work and succeed like you did?
I did not sleep.
What’s one thing you wish you knew about high school in advance?
There’s not cliques like in the movies. I expected there to be the jocks and the cheerleaders, but it’s not like that at all. Everyone’s friends with everyone.
What was your favorite moment of high school?
Probably my sophomore year when I won the Tony Jannus Scholarship essay contest. They give you $600 and three roundtrip tickets to anywhere in the US. My mom and I went to San Francisco and that was pretty amazing.
What was the most challenging thing about having COVID-19 disrupt your senior year?
For me, I’m really big on closure and I like when things have an ending. I’ve worked really hard these four years and I was really hoping for one grand event where I could say this chapter of my life is over and I could say goodbye. But there was nothing… it was strange adapting to that.
What’s the best thing you learned from a teacher?
In my middle school world history class, we were learning about different cultures and my sixth grade teacher said to remain open-minded at all times. You’re not gonna learn anything if your mind is closed off. Also, I was doing SAT prep with Ms. Newsome, a former teacher at PCHS, and I was super anxious about my score. I really wanted to get into Florida. She said “Kyle, you can do this, you’re super bright and you can’t let your anxiety inhibit your natural ability.” Those words have been on repeat in my head ever since she said them.
What do you hope to do in life after college?
After undergrad, I hope to go to medical school somewhere. I really want to be a disease specialist focusing on HIV/AIDS or pandemic research.
What’s one message you’d like to share with your fellow graduates?
Never forget who you are.