Senior Advice

Madison obreza

Hi! My name is Madison Obreza, and I am a senior here at CVA and was just recently named the Class of 2022 Valedictorian. I will be attending Pennsylvania State University in the fall and be a part of their Pre-Medical Medical Program that is partnered with Sidney Kimmel Medical College. As a student in this program, I will spend 3 years at Penn State and then take the MCAT (fingers crossed for a good score) and then directly matriculate at Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia. I hope to become a pediatric orthopedic doctor after graduating from medical school.

I am probably what many would consider a teacher’s pet, and while it seems to have a negative connotation, I don’t mind. Working hard and caring about your grades makes you a driven student. My biggest piece of advice would be to not care what other people think, and don't be afraid to be the person who cares about your grades.

Advice I highly recommend:

Get involved! - Make the most of your years here at CVA. Do everything you can! There’s nothing worse than looking back and regretting that you didn’t do more. Don’t be afraid to sign up for clubs or sports that may be new to you, and don’t stop doing your favorite activities. There’s nothing else like high school sports or high school musicals! Why not do it all?!

Make connections with your teachers! - We honestly have really great teachers here at CVA, and they care about each student and your future. Ask questions, build relationships with them, and go to them if you need help! We are lucky to have a school where your teachers know you by name, so take advantage of it.

Be kind! - High school is so much more pleasant when you are kind. Be the person who smiles and says hi to others in the hallway. Hold the door. Compliment someone’s outfit. Don’t be the person who swears at a teacher or trashes the bathroom. It’s really not funny and I can promise you that people will just be annoyed by it.

Gianna Frank

Hello! My name is Gianna Frank and I am the Salutatorian of Central Valley Academy’s Class of 2022. I am graduating in June and will be attending Syracuse University this fall to double major in neuroscience and biology on the pre-medical track. For my first semester, I will be living and studying on Syracuse's World Campus in Madrid, Spain. I will be in Spain from the end of August to mid-December.

I have always been a motivated student, regardless of the year or what life throws at me. I never had any intentions of laying off or slowing down. It is very important to push through and not give up, even if it is the end of the year. Once you have a plan with set goals, it is much easier to give yourself a break and take some time to focus on your mental health.

My advice to rising seniors or any underclassmen is to do what you enjoy. Take the classes that you're interested in and I advise loading up on some hard courses if you can handle it because it will pay off in the long run. I have several courses that I took for AP and also College Now that are being transferred to Syracuse University which excludes me from required classes or advances me more quickly in my program. Another piece of advice is just get it done. Show up to school and just push through. A little bit of effort can go a long way.

I strongly recommend doing things to build your resume at a young age. You have four years of high school to make a strong list of accomplishments for colleges or employers to see and understand you. Joining clubs, sports, working or doing internships are all ways of building this list. In my senior year, I participated in a neurology/neurosurgery internship with Dr. Qandah of CNY Brain & Spine Neurosurgery. This allowed me to watch surgeries every other week and gain a strong mentor to help me in my future. By doing this internship I was able to fully decide what I was interested in.

Emma Wheet

Hey everyone! My name is Emma Wheet and I am currently a senior at Central Valley Academy graduating in June of 2022. I will be attending Mohawk Valley Community College for an associate degree in radiology, and then I plan on transferring to Hudson Valley Community College for a certification in Diagnostic Medical Sonography. I am currently working as a tech aid at CMI at St. Luke's to gain some experience within the field.

I've had senioritis since I was a freshman/sophomore. I have always been friends with people a few years older than me, so their cases of senioritis quickly rubbed off onto myself. One thing I highly suggest is making your senior year enjoyable with classes you find interesting while also challenging yourself. This makes it a little easier to actually want to be at school, especially if that means coming in your pajamas!

Advice I highly recommend:

Stick out from others - You don't have to fit in. Being different actually makes you stick out while applying to colleges or even different fields of occupation. For me, fostering a Freedom Guide Dog stuck out with great deal on my applications because it was something not many high schoolers do, let alone people in Herkimer County.

Explore your future career - Take the opportunity of completing an internship! I cannot express enough how thankful I am that I got the opportunity to not only be able to experience one internship placement, but two. I thought I wanted to go into Veterinary Science because of the love I have for animals, but my internship showed me that the path wasn't really the best option for me. I then switched my placement to St. Elizabeth's Hospital and have enjoyed every bit of it. I got to see surgeries on both of my first days at each placement and have seen a variety of different procedures among the two. I even got to see a human heart! But, had I not taken part of the internship program, I would've spent years of my life in the wrong field of education, as well as have a lot of college debt.

It can be difficult to find motivation, but with the right mindset and strive to reach your goals it is in fact possible. Enjoy every moment of your senior year because it goes by way too fast!

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