BEST
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles about the local high school valedictorians and salutatorians in the Class of 2017. Coming up Tuesday, the Best in the Class of 2017: Lake City High and Post Falls High.
By JASON ELLIOTT
Staff Writer
This year’s co-valedictorians at Coeur d’Alene High School are Abigail Childress and Paige Renaldo.
Childress, 17, carries a 4.511 grade-point average and will attend the University of Idaho to triple major in biochemistry, microbiology and Spanish.
“I want to be a doctor specializing in radiology or pediatric surgery eventually,” Childress said.
Her favorite quote? “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid,” which is commonly attributed to Einstein.
Renaldo, 18, carries a 4.0 GPA in unweighted classes and 5.0 in weighted classes. She’s planning to attend the University of Arizona, dual majoring in astronomy and physics.
“I want to eventually work for NASA and become an astronaut,” Renaldo said. “Hopefully the first person on Mars. The greatest lesson I learned from my education experience is to ultimately do what makes you happy. Everything else will fall into place and you will end up where you are supposed to be if you just continue to do what makes you happy. I will use this lesson I learned in school and do whatever I can to be happy in life. If I am not happy, then it’s not worth it, and it’s not the path I’m supposed to be on. I will use this emotion to guide me in all my future endeavors.”
Caitlin Conway is this year’s salutatorian at Coeur d’Alene High, carrying a 4.451 GPA in weighted classes. Conway, who was born in Memphis, plans to attend the University of South Carolina in the fall to major in psychology and Spanish. She has also considered someday earning a doctorate in neuroscience to fully understand how the brain works and compels people’s behaviors. She’s also a member of the Capstone Scholars Program, which has a service requirement each semester.
“With this, I hope to initiate some kind of program regarding mental health issues in high school juniors or seniors at some of the local high schools if possible,” Conway said. “I am looking to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and I want to work in a field such as the Behavior Analysis Unit so I can help law enforcement understand what causes criminals to commit their crimes, help catch criminals and keep citizens safe.”
Through her schooling, Conway has also learned a few good lessons.
“I have learned that you cannot get caught up in the desire to receive the best grades,” she said. “You have to want to learn for the purpose of learning and understanding the beautiful world that we all find ourselves in. There is no depth in learning unless it is found within the heart to want to achieve a greater understanding. This lesson likewise will help me move forward from high school, because I love learning to understand the world I find myself in and I look to help share this passion with others, so they can achieve a sense of happiness and achievement through learning.”
Coeur d’Alene will hold its graduation ceremony Friday, June 9, at 7 p.m. in the high school gymnasium.