Jared Bell, the Class of 2016 valedictorian at Paul R. Wharton High has advice for those striving to finish at or near the top of their class.
Relax.
Have fun.
โNot too much fun,โโ he says. โBut, donโt get too caught up in all the technical stuff and GPAs. It is important, but you should try to enjoy your time in high school, too.โ
Sage advice from a guy who was following in the footsteps of his brother, 2014 class valedictorian Earl, and the son of two Wharton teachers โ math teacher Dave and English reading teacher Diana Bell.
Pressure?
What pressure?
Jared, who will attend the University of Florida next year, finished high school with a 7.49 weighted grade point average.
โI didnโt really decide to be (class valedictorian), but after my freshman year I was first and my dad just said, โletโs try to stay in first,โโ Jared says. โAnd we did.โ
Having parents as teachers helped, although Bell says there really wasnโt any added pressure. But, he says the right frame of mind was instilled in him early on.
โWe started at a young age with their education,โ Dave says.
That included math games played in the car on long trips, no volume and closed captioning subtitles when they watched their favorite television shows, and plenty of reading time with their mother.
โThey get their smarts from their momma,โโ Dad says.
Obviously, Jared not only had his parents as examples, he also had his big brother. Following in Earlโs footsteps certainly put a little charge into the process.
โI would say I put more pressure on myself than he did,โโ Jared says. โBut my brother definitely helped me a lot.โ
Earl was able to help Jared avoid some of the โprep pitfalls,โ while also steering him clear of classes and teachers he didnโt think his brother would like.
Dave says both boys were, โtypical teenage boys. They didnโt want to do homework. We pushed them a little bit. We stayed on them.โ
Jared modestly declines to run down the list of all of his high school accomplishments, but says he was โactiveโ in school. He joined several clubs, and was president of Mu Alpha Theta, a mathematics honor society.
He wrestled for three years, and says he worked with 15-20 clients as a private tutor to make a little spending money. He recently completed his final credits and will graduate with an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree in Business from HCC this summer.
For fun, he says, he enjoys exercise and working out, hanging out with friends, and playing ultimate frisbee.
Jared only makes being class valedictorian sound easy. He does describe it as โvery, very tough,โ and said the biggest key, and struggle, is time management.
A typical high school day his sophomore and junior year would generally start at 6 a.m., with school until 3 p.m., then wrestling practice until 6, and home by 7, where he would do homework for a few hours before going to sleep.
โThen, repeat,โโ he says.
Jared is undecided about what he will study at Florida. He is attending the university in Gainesville on a Reserve Officersโ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship, and will serve four years in the Army following his graduation. He said he will probably focus on the sciences for a major.
And, he and Earl will live together in Gainesville.
โBoth boys worked very hard,โ Dave says. โWe are proud of both of them. Super proud.โ
And, while two class valedictorians from one family is impressive, consider that the Bells may not be finished.
Earl and Jaredโs sister Victoria is wrapping up her freshman year at Wharton.