SHAWANO, WI- TCHdailynews continues Class of 2021 Top Of Class Profiles with a look at the Co-Valedictorians of the Shawano Class of 2021.
This year’s Valedictorians are Grace Huntington, Graciella Onesti, Avery Drier and Sophie Hanauer
GRACE HUNTINGTON
One of this year’s Co-Valedictorians is Grace Huntington. As you can imagine, Grace describes her path to the top of class as a busy one.
Huntington says with all of that hard work, it feels really good to be recognized. Her Senior year was not an easy one by any means. She said she did not shy away from tougher classes in her final year.
Some of the classes that she took were college-level classes. She says the toughest class that she took was AP Calculus. She was happy that she did make the decision to take Lakeland Biology her Junior year. She said a lot of time this was spent teaching herself and was happy that she got to end the year close to normal. She said there were some skills that she acquired during the struggle.
“Staying positive in difficult situations and embracing life and making good decisions.”
Grace says she plans to attend UW-LaCrosse in the fall.
Grace says her advice to younger students is to work hard and don’t procrastinate. “It is much harder to bring up a bad grade than it is to maintain a good one.”
GRACIELLA ONESTI
One of this year’s Co-Valedictorians is Graciella Onesti.
“It wasn’t a goal until my first year of high school and I thought it was a good goal for high school to push for,” she said. Onesti’s workload her Senior year was pretty busy early on.
Graciella says she enjoyed being in a four-person marathon for the top of the class. She said working with each other helped them all.
“We took a lot of classes together and I felt comfortable working with each one of them,” Onesti said of the other three who finished atop the class.
Graciella said the one thing that she had to work on is test-taking.
Looking back, Onesti said she was able to make the most of her senior year.
Throughout High School, Onesti was involved in Dance, Cross Country, Track, Soccer, 4-H, National Honor Society, Yearbook, Student Council, Spanish Club, Math Club, Bridge to Success, FBLA, Junior Achievement and Rocketry Club.
“I spent a lot of time at home, but found some time to get out of the house,” she said. “We missed out on some experiences, but we got to do a lot of other different stuff.”
As far as her message to her class, Onesti is using something close to her.
“Life is a recipe that you need to add your own flavor to and be willing to tweak it.”
She is going to UW-La Crosse to study Biology Medicine for a future degree in dermatology.
Her advice to younger students is to get involved.
AVERY DRIER
One of this year’s Co-Valedictorians is Avery Drier. The achievement completes a long-time goal for Avery.
Avery had an easy way to describe her Senior year. “Unlike any other.” She said the first half of the year was tough, but it got better after the new year.
Avery was involved in Volleyball, Basketball, Track and Field, Math Club, Yearbook, FBLA, Student Council, Spanish Club, Good Triathlon, and Junior Achievement.
When it comes to the classroom, Avery excelled and said she was happy that she took Spanish all four years.
“The most difficult class for me was AP Stats,” Drier said. “It required the most focus and I took it as a Sophomore.
Drier says he next destination is UW-Madison to work on staying in the family business.
Avery’s parents are second generation owners of Drier’s Pharmacy in Shawano. “It started with my grandpa.”
For Avery she has another passion that keeps her focused on returning home.
She says that adventure choosing is what her message to her class is all about.
Avery’s advice to her class, be well-rounded and try new things.
SOPHIE HANAUER
Graduating top of class is something Sophie has had her eye on for a little while, and it came with the competition driving her.
“It it really rewarding and all my hard work paid off,” Hanauer said.
That journey included virtual school her Senior year, which she said forced her to get more creative to maintain her “A” grades.
In her time in High School, Sophie participated in tennis, basketball and softball and various clubs. She also spent a lot of time volunteering.
“I took two advanced classes during the first semester and they were both online so it was kind of a struggle.”
Her next destination takes her to Carroll University with an entrance into the exercise science program.
Hanauer said her injury and her chance to work with Dr. McKenzie (the Packers team doctor) really fueled her desire to go this direction. Many wondered if she would continue the family business of Christmas tree growing at Hanauer Farms, but she says right now that is not the plan, even though she enjoyed it growing up.
She hopes to return to somewhere in Wisconsin to pursue her career.
Her message to her class talks about the past, present and future.
“I could not pick one thing to focus on, but I will talk about different journeys, but we all have the same destination to graduation, but will then be on separate paths again after this.”
Congratulations to the Class of 2021.
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