Neither of these incredible students thought they’d end up earning the highest GPAs in the school–or even planned on being online students.
But when life threw new challenges their way, these two didn’t just adapt, they excelled and achieved their goals.
iSucceed’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian this year are both female students with pretty incredible stories. Learn more about these accomplished young ladies below.
About Kaylie Cook, iSucceed 2020 Valedictorian
“I really love hiking, kayaking, and anything that has to do with being outdoors. I also enjoy reading a good book and listening to music.
I was homeschooled for eight years before attending a local charter school for my first two years of high school. However, after the charter school was shut down, the environment at the local high school was not a good fit for me. I began to consider online schooling options and found iSucceed. iSucceed was a good choice because it is academically focused and has a supportive community of people that were willing to help me achieve my goals and meet my educational needs.
It had never even occurred to me that I could be valedictorian. I was held to rigorous standards at home and at the charter school. I was constantly pushed to the edge of my comfort zone, which tested my limits and led to a lot of growth. Being valedictorian was never a goal of mine, but this experience has taught me that hard work pays off.
A big thank you to Ms. Sistoni, who was pivotal in my success. I took a lot of classes outside of iSucceed and she was very supportive of that even though it was a bit of a hassle. In addition, all my teachers were great. They were so helpful and really dedicated to helping me succeed.
I want to encourage all homeschooled students and online students to work hard and know that you are in no way inferior to students in the brick and mortar school system. If you work hard and always do your best it will pay off. Even small personal successes are really rewarding.”
About K Mu Paw, iSucceed’s 2020 Salutatorian
“My name is K Mu Eh Paw, I am 18 and I like to watch movies, and occasionally read fantasy books.
I became interested in iSucceed after I found out I was pregnant and I wanted to attend online school to ease some of the pregnancy symptoms as well as trying out something new.
It was quite a shock when I found out that I was selected to be a Salutatorian. It wasn’t initially a goal of mine, I just put in the work needed to achieve the grades I wanted. I had to do my assignments whenever I could and even finish some of them ahead of their due dates as well. I wasn’t always easy, but I had to work hard!
Ms. Karen Lesh helped me significantly throughout the school year. Starting from my registration to my schedules and even helping with my duel credit classes, she was always ready to guide me to the path I needed to take to reach my goals.
After graduation, I plan to take my education slowly and focus on being a good mom. Online college is definitely on my list!
Being a teen mom isn’t the easiest thing I have experienced, especially while trying to finish high school, but with all the supportive teacher and staff at ISUCCEED, I was able to accomplish what I wanted to. Even though this was my first year as an online student, it has been the best year of my high school career. I was able to grow and adapt in a new kind of environment that I was never used to.”
Congratulations, class of 2020!
- Give a shoutout to these two awesome ladies in the comments below; they could use your words of encouragement!
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Way to go girls!! So proud of you both. You both have had lots of changes and you’ve proved that you can not only complete the challenge, but also thrive in the process! God’s best to both of you!