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.
“Not too much fun,’’ he says. “But, don’t 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.”
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 — 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.
“I didn’t really decide to be (class valedictorian), but after my freshman year I was first and my dad just said, ‘let’s try to stay in first,’” Jared says. “And we did.”
Having parents as teachers helped, although Bell says there really wasn’t any added pressure. But, he says the right frame of mind was instilled in him early on.
“We started at a young age with their education,” 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.
“They get their smarts from their momma,’’ Dad says.
Obviously, Jared not only had his parents as examples, he also had his big brother. Following in Earl’s footsteps certainly put a little charge into the process.
“I would say I put more pressure on myself than he did,’’ Jared says. “But my brother definitely helped me a lot.”
Earl was able to help Jared avoid some of the “prep pitfalls,” while also steering him clear of classes and teachers he didn’t think his brother would like.
Dave says both boys were, “typical teenage boys. They didn’t want to do homework. We pushed them a little bit. We stayed on them.”
Jared modestly declines to run down the list of all of his high school accomplishments, but says he was “active” 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 “very, very tough,” 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.
“Then, repeat,’’ he says.
Jared is undecided about what he will study at Florida. He is attending the university in Gainesville on a Reserve Officers’ 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.
“Both boys worked very hard,” Dave says. “We are proud of both of them. Super proud.”
And, while two class valedictorians from one family is impressive, consider that the Bells may not be finished.
Earl and Jared’s sister Victoria is wrapping up her freshman year at Wharton.
Her initial goal, laid out with intricate planning, was to graduate with her A.A. degree from HCC, which she did on May 6. Then, she added Class Valedictorian to her to-do list.
By Christen Caporali
The warriors participated in games like “Capture the Flag,” rock climbing, basketball and baseball, and completed a water fitness & therapy class conducted by a YMCA personal trainer.
