Six valedictorians for Madison-Plains
By Dean Shipley
Staff Writer
Top row, from left: Tiffany Taylor, Molly Holt, and Devin Kilbarger. Bottom row: McKenzie Walters, Abigail Oravec, and Rickelle Davis.
Madison-Plains High School has its first-ever multiple valedictorians: in triplicate times two.
Doing the math, that’s six. Their names were revealed at the school’s scholastic honors banquet held Thursday evening, May 24. That will make for a crowded dais come Friday evening, June 1, graduation evening.
Six students, one boy and five girls have maintained the coveted 4.0 grade-point average. They are: Devin Kilbarger, McKenzie Walters, Tiffany Taylor, Abigail Oravec, Molly Holt and Rickelle Davis.
These six students have maintained perfect grades in selected classes. In their senior year, those subjects included: physics, calculus, senior college English, CP American government.
In their junior year, they had to maintain an “A” average in the following subjects: advanced chemistry, pre-calculus, junior college English, AP American history, and third-year foreign language including either Spanish, French or Chinese.
But these young scholars do more than insert their noses in books or gaze for hours at computer screens.
Valedictorian Devin Kilbarger is on the way to becoming a skilled artist. He played soccer and football and was recognized as an athlete of the week. The four-year class president has apparently been recognized by his classmates as a person with leadership potential. A member of the National Honor Society, he was active in the French and Science clubs.
His post-high school plan includes studying civil engineering at The Ohio State University.
Devin is the son of Kelly and Dwight Kilbarger.
Valedictorian McKenzie Walters lead the Golden Eagle band as field commander. She also played in the solo and ensemble music contest as well as the pep band. As a member of the drama club, she worked behind the scenes on school plays as stage manager. This National Honor Society member in the fall will travel to “The Crescent City” to study anthropology at Tulane University.
McKenzie is the daughter of Martina and Les Walters.
Valedictorian Tiffany Taylor is just what the medical profession needs: a smart person. She plans to study nursing — a position requiring critical thinking skills — at Shawnee State University. Her goal is to work in a trauma center. This student council and National Honor Society member co-edited the 2012 yearbook and was a dual enrollment program participant. The four-year Spanish student also took consumer classes including interior design and healthy and safe food.
Tiffany is the daughter of Christy and Dave Taylor.
Valedictorian Abigail Oravec, in addition to her demanding college prep curriculum, has followed her muse by developing her artistic and photographic skills. The National Honor Society member also played softball and soccer and was recognized as a scholar athlete. She is the senior class treasurer.
Abigail is the daughter of Gayle and Pat Oravec.
Valedictorian Molly Holt, in addition to her college preparatory curriculum, studied ag science and farm management. She was an officer in the National Honor Society and in the Spanish club. She furthered her education through the dual enrollment program through Urbana University.
She plans to study biology at Capital University with her end goal as becoming a veterinarian.
Molly Holt is the daughter of Dawn and Todd Holt.
Valedictorian Rickelle Davis made her mark as a Golden Eagle scholar athlete by participating in three sports: softball, basketball and volleyball and earning SCOL second-team honors in the latter. She sang in choir, held memberships in Spanish club FFA and was student council member.
Her post-graduation plan includes pre-med studies at Miami University.
Rickelle is the daughter of Lisa and Rick Davis.
Taking the same classes, but literally coming up .042 point short of grade-point average perfection, at 3.958, is salutatorian Susan Kessler. She took the same aforementioned courses and was a four-year member of marching and concert bands. This National Honor Society member, held membership in Spanish and science clubs. She also entertained the muses of art and drama.
She plans to study biology at Mt. Vernon Nazarene College.
Susan is the daughter of Rebecca and Jeff Kessler.
