Celebrating our valedictorians
Valedictorian says North High made her a ‘joyful person’
By David Pierini staff reporter
Rahma Yusuf says she is “very” indecisive.
But for the past four years, Yusuf was rather resolute about what she wanted to accomplish at North High School … graduate as valedictorian.
North High Valedictorian Rahma Yusuf. Photo by David Pierini
Yusuf checked the box with a 3.9 grade point average. When she shared the news with her parents, her mother cried. Her father rewarded her with a raise in her allowance.
“My dad loves to celebrate my academic successes with a higher allowance,” said Yusuf, the fourth oldest in a home with 10 kids. “I told them ‘I have the best news, better than when I told you that I got into college.’”
Yusuf is Somali and her parents are refugees who came to the U.S. in the 1990s. The achieving student does not know how many Somali students in Minnesota have earned valedictorian, but her sisters insisted, “you’re representing.”
Yusuf plans to consult them on fashion choices for graduation. To honor her culture, Yusuf plans to don a traditional dirac, a colorful and elegant, three-piece garment often worn for special occasions. In her valedictorian speech, she will thank her parents for their sacrifices but also express gratitude for North High School.
She remembers arriving three days late for her freshman year. She had just spent two years living in Egypt with her family and was nervous about whether she would feel welcome. Her anxiety began to fall away almost immediately. She said she found teachers eager to show her around and encouraged her to introduce herself in class. Students also made her feel she belonged to the Polar community.
“North definitely pulled a much happier, more joyful person out of me,” she said. “I know my dad wanted me to go to Edison the summer before 10th grade. I straight up said no. I think that showed how attached I was to North.”
Again, pretty decisive. Yusuf said her indecisive side came out when it came time to figure out a career path. She is interested in many subjects.
She wanted to be in health care, but was unsure of which space. There were already nurses in her family including two sisters who graduated from nursing programs. She wanted to be different.
The family’s first valedictorian wants to be the first dentist in the family.
Yusuf was admitted to the University of Minnesota where she will study to be a dental hygienist and continue her studies to be a dentist while she works.
Grades slipping? Henry’s top student has a turn-around tale to tell
Sydney Lohse was near the end of her eighth-grade year with an academic record that was far from stellar.
Patrick Henry Valedictorian Sydney Lohse. Photo by David Pierini
With C’s and D’s on her report card, the parents had a talk with their only child. She was told to shape up.
On June 10, Lohse, 18, will stand before her senior classmates as Patrick Henry High School’s valedictorian.
“At no time in middle school did I think would make it to valedictorian,” said Lohse, who earned the title with a 3.96 grade point average. “I was just going to have fun and whatever. My parents told me in the last quarter (of middle school) I needed to shape up and get my work done. I worked really hard and got all A’s my last quarter. And then I told myself I’m going to do this in high school and use my time more wisely.”
Movies and television portray academic achievers as high-strung and obsessed over grades. Lohse has no such edge.
From that last middle school report card, Lohse learned to relax and believe in her abilities to get her work done. She said she didn’t worry about grades. She just puts in the work.
A member of the Patrick Henry softball team, she brings the same approach to the plate, even when there are runners in scoring position and the game is on the line.
“I’m not the kind of person who thinks, ‘I could win the game If I get this hit.’ I relax, go up the plate and just swing,” said Lohse,
At the end of her junior year her report card showed her ranked third in her class. Her second-quarter report card, which came out the first of this year, made her gasp: it showed her ranked first in her class.
“I started screaming and my dad started crying and stuff. My parents said keep working and so after that, I was like ‘Yep, I’m going to try really hard now.”
One theme of her valedictorian graduation speech will encourage her classmates to go forth with a relaxed, even-tempered approach to life’s challenges.
Lohse’s next challenge was inspired by a family vacation where she got the chance to swim with dolphins. She will attend Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., to study marine biology.