It is both an honor and a privilege to be ranked as one of the best students in the school. Best Students, as in the most academic achievements and excellence reached. It is not an easy task to be placed in the top five out of 500+ students, although, every year there are always those who show us it can be done, the only question is how?
Does placing in top ten for highest GPA and highest level of advanced classes start back in middle school? Or is it a period of set dedication and motivation that can bring you to achieve such status? Well, Let’s hear it from Class of 2026 valedictorian, and top 5 students and how they did it to earn their positions.
Let’s begin with, David Stanescu, the number one of the 2026 class, when asked what to do to acquired this role he recommends to “…do as little as possible [to get a high class rank] in order to get the most results; this means that you shouldn’t get stressed over getting perfect scores on everything and worry over every test because that just leads to burnout. Also try to only take AICE/AP classes, Other classes tank GPA and make you unviable to compete.” So when asked if it’s not just about getting straight As David states, “I did get all As, but nobody should stress over getting lets say a C or a B on a test and thinking it’s over for that quarter and just giving up.”
So, how did David manage with academics and still a life outside school,? He claims to balance both school and personal life you have to be “methodical with academics and trying to get them over with early (so they don’t pile up). If you have everything in check, you’ll be less stressed and can enjoy a personal life too” If things do get piled up, what do we do? According to our valedictorian, “Whenever it got difficult, like when I had a stressful high-stakes test that would dictate my grade, I would just think about little impact this would have in my life and let the results play out. Honestly, the less time I spent worrying or focusing, the better the result. Also having the faith that whatever happens is for the greater good is key; so if you don’t do well in the moment, it’s just part of the journey and it happened like so for a reason.”— a reminder we all constantly need
Such a high achievement yet so grounded, as he also says he went for this accomplishment, “mostly out of personal goals and not letting myself down.” He felt a pressure ever since he acquired the #1 spot in freshman year, so he “just had to keep it up” even though before high school David never thought he’d have this title, as he says he didn’t even have that many honors classes in middle school: “Its sounds weird but not having certain honors classes (that transfer into high school) boosted my GPA.”
Overall he feels “proud, but like all things in life we tend to never feel truly fulfilled with these type of things and move on to the next goal.”
Now presenting, Ava Stone, our salutatorian, and her thoughts about her experiences as number two of the 2026 class. Ava states how she has,“aimed for the top of my class since freshman year. I set high academic goals for myself and took advantage of the AICE/AP curriculum and available dual enrollment courses to get to where I am today.” (Take dual enrollment! Don’t be frightened by the process!) So, when asked what a freshman should do if they want to be top ten, she claims, “they should take mostly all APs and AICE classes, enroll in two dual enrollment courses every semester, take advantage of online AP courses through FLVS, and maintain all A’s.” Maintaining all A’s in all of your classes is not an easy task, but when asked if she has ever finalized a class with a grade lower than an A, she admits she has “gotten all straight A’s since Freshman year.” very impressive!
Casey Schwirzbin, 2026’s number 3, describes her weekday-routine that got her to this place: “A normal school day for me is a little boring. I wake up at 5:30am and start getting ready. I leave for the bus at 6:30am, spend the morning doing homework and then I go to my classes. I have 6 in-person classes and 1 virtual so depending on the day I might get to leave early. After I get home, I eat and just do homework until dinner. Then I watch tv, talk to my friends, and try to go to sleep by 10:30ish! If I have any extra time I’ll work on scholarship applications, read, or plan for club meetings.” From this, we can tell she is a very dedicated and focused individual, but when did she realize she wanted to become this academically successful? According to Casey she said it stared all the way back in 5th grade, “I started taking school seriously in fifth grade, after my English teacher (Mrs. Lean at Coral Sunset!) said she could picture me graduating at the top of my class and attending a highly-ranked school. I hadn’t even know any of that was an option, but her faith in me made me believe I could do it too! After that conversation, I started to make my goals and research universities.”
All this devotion, and commitment, yet times of unmotivation always creeps in, when asked for advice and what she did when she felt burn out or unmotivated, she says she, “…thinks of my younger self and everything she dreamed of. I had so many insane goals and absolutely no idea of how to get there; I think she’d be really proud of where I ended up. If that doesn’t work, I think of everything I still want in the future! I know the only way to get there is by pushing myself and staying focused.”
Maxim Korotki, secured his spot as number four! Despite all the success, there must’ve been some hardships along the way, for Max he says it was junior year for him…“The hardest year of high school for me was junior year. When I was choosing courses at the end of sophomore year, I thought that I should take the hardest classes possible, the ones that would set me up for college and up my rank. However, as soon as the year started, I instantly felt the stress of AP calculus, AICE level Spanish, and my research in AP seminar all at the same time. It was also incredibly hard to maintain motivation in times of struggle. However, I truly recommend treating yourself and taking mini study breaks, as it helped me stay motivated.” So, to attain such a high position it makes one wonder if they ever failed a test, according to Max he did once…”In both AICE Math and AP Calculus AB I got a 55-60 on the same type of test each year. It was on finding area and volumes of revolution in calculus. I would spend hours at night studying, just to not understand the material on test day and fail my test. Even worse, the rest of the class did well and there was no curve. I felt terrible. However, I moved on and realized there will always be more tests. When it was AICE/AP test time, I used my failure on that unit to motivate me, and ensured to practice it more than any other unit.” —that’s a real winner mindset right there, turning your failures into the fuel used to succeed.
When I asked Max, if he had always been top of that class, he said in the beginning of freshman year he was number 27! — So eager freshmen, there’s still hope for you. Like any goal in life, hard work is always necessary, as Max says he got to where he is “through a lot of hard work and studying. For some people, information comes to them right away, and they don’t have to study much. However, in class, I often struggle to process the information right away, especially in math. I spent hours at home studying to understand the information that went over my head in class. I also really recommend taking dual enrollment and AP classes on FLVS over the summer. They are not very time-consuming, and are a great way to get credits done, as well as boost rank!”
Lastly, our number 5, Camilia DiConza, shares her perspective on her position. From a mental health perspective, when asked if this academic goal or pressure ever takes away from your social life or mental health? Camila says, “There were definitely busy seasons where some time for school took time away from other things, but setting priorities allowed me to stay balanced and involved in everything in a sustainable way.” So, when asked what matters most: hard classes or perfect grades? Cami thinks, “A combination of both is ideal, but strong grades in advanced courses can mean more than perfection in easier ones. Challenging yourself and knowing the workload you can manage is important.” Therefore, always know your limits! Yet, if you want to attain a high GPA, Camila also recommends taking “AP and AICE classes if possible,” also she suggest to, “ask teachers any questions you have on a topic, and develop study habits early on in your high school career, such as planning your week or day ahead, study groups, and mostly prioritizing sleep…which is neglected, but sleep is necessary to restore your mind and leads to better focus and concentration. Overall just finding out what organizational method works best for you, as for me was staying organized with planners and calendars, different things work for different people, but eventually you will find your flow.”
There you have it, everyone, all their tips and tricks on how to obtain such highly valued positions. All the hard work, sacrifice, and determination taught them well… and shows us that if you want it enough, you can have it, that it’s not about perfection but about how you persevere. If you’re a freshman and looking to earn such positions, your journey begins now!
Congratulations to this year’s 2026 top five students!
