On Friday, January 30, the gym erupted in applause as three seniors received prestigious awards for their outstanding academic performance throughout their four years as Golden Lions. Juliana Esper was named valedictorian, Cate Chandler the salutatorian, and Olivia Casal was awarded STAR Student.
All three seniors worked extremely hard for these honors over the past four years.
STAR Student Casal, the senior with the highest SAT score who is also in the top 10% of the graduating class, was motivated by her family. “All of my older siblings were STAR students, so I wanted to be one as well,” she said.
Esper had a different approach to motivation.
“It [being valedictorian] was always in the back of my mind, but I never made it my final goal. I typically just wanted to do the best I could all the time. It did become more of my focus last semester, when everyone kept mentioning it, but I don’t think it was the biggest thing that was driving me,” Esper explained.
These students had to make sacrifices and difficult decisions in order to be ranked so highly in the Class of 2026.
Chandler had to balance being a varsity soccer player, competing on a club team, and managing a rigorous course load.
“Coming home and having a really late night for studying and school is definitely a mental battle, trying to find the will and drive to do that,” Chandler said. “But I think having that motivation has taught me a lot of skills that I can use in college and beyond, because I’ve been able to find that balance and push myself academically while also committing to extracurriculars, especially soccer.”
Esper also reflected on the sacrifices required.
“I think there was a lot of sacrifice involved, especially during sports seasons when I had to come home and stay up really late to do all my work and study,” Esper said. “Also, the support system I had was really helpful. My parents were always cheering me on, and that really helped me do my best.”
Many students dream of earning these awards and wonder what steps they can take to achieve them.
“I would say to always focus on doing your best, not necessarily being the best in the class,” Esper said when giving advice to underclassmen. “Being the best is a great goal, but doing your best is the most important thing. Also, take advantage of your resources. Everyone here wants to help you succeed, whether that’s going to office hours or asking questions early in the morning.”
Another piece of advice from Chandler was to enjoy the learning process.
“Take classes that you’re interested in and that will give you a good toolkit for college and what you want to pursue,” she said. “For me, I want to go into finance, so I took personal finance, microeconomics, and AP Statistics. Find classes that challenge you but also help you enjoy learning.”
Casal offered a more straightforward approach as STAR Student: “Study your vocab and just practice—do a million practice tests,” she said.
Esper, Chandler, and Casal exemplify what it means to be a Golden Lion, and St. Pius X celebrates their four years of hard work and their achievement of the school’s highest academic honors. Congratulations!
