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For the past four years, Michayla Rager and Joe Nguyen have had to delicately balance a rigorous academic workload with their extracurricular activities. From sports to community service, both have led very active lives. They have also been incredibly successful, as Rager has been named the Class of 2024 valedictorian, while Nguyen is the Class of 2024 salutatorian.
Joining them in the Class of 2024 Top 10 are Dalton Kraft, Ava Caiarelli, John Heddleston, Alaina Hartnett, Kacey Stoker, Haneef Capers, Shelby Novak, and Isabella Ruston. You can meet all of them here.
In the conversation below, the two students reflected on their time at Steel Valley and shared their plans for the future. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Was it was always a goal of yours to be part of the Top 10 and try to be valedictorian or salutatorian? Was this something that was always on your mind?
RAGER: It was never always on my mind. It kind of just happened. I wanted to stay up there and have good grades, but it was never like I needed to be valedictorian or I needed to be salutatorian.
NGUYEN: It wasn’t always a goal, but it was the competitiveness with Michayla and the rest of the Top 10 that made me want to be valedictorian or salutatorian or at least in the top part of the class.
What is the biggest challenge in not only getting consistently excellent grades, but to manage the workload and all that comes with pursuing rigorous academics?
RAGER: Probably time management, making sure you get all the work done and on time. And as a senior, you’re also doing other things. You have sports, you’re hanging out with friends, you have to fill out scholarships and apply for college. It's just time management with all of it.
NGUYEN: I agree with Michayla. It’s a lot of time management. And it's hard to keep your motivation going and keep doing more of everything all at once.
Michayla, what’s a lasting memory that you’ll have from your time here at Steel Valley?
RAGER: Being part of the soccer team. My freshman and sophomore year, we were really good. We went very far in the playoffs and everything. Just being a part of that team and having that team work ethic together really was just something that will always stick with me.
Joe, what about you?
NGUYEN: I think, similar to Michayla, it’s playing volleyball, soccer, and bowling with my teammates. We never had the best records every season, but just having that close group of kids is very nice.
You’re both very involved in extracurriculars at Steel Valley. What all have you been involved in over the past four years?
RAGER: I played soccer and basketball all four years of high school. I also played softball my first two years. I'm a part of the History Club, student government, SADD, Spanish, and National Honors Society. With National Honor Society, we do tutoring. And then being involved in the community, I’ve always helped out at Best of the Batch. I've helped coach basketball camps for younger girls. I helped out with a younger girls soccer team, just kind of mentoring younger kids and helping them out to learn their place in the Steel Valley community.
Why was it important for you to not only be involved in a wide range of activities, but to do some of that mentoring and volunteerism?
RAGER: While you’re helping other people, it also helps yourself. You’re figuring out where you belong, what you love to do, and all of that.
Joe, what were you involved in at Steel Valley?
NGUYEN: For sports, I played soccer, bowling, and volleyball. For clubs, I was in NHS for two years and I serve as the president right now. I was in Student Council for four years where I currently serve as the one of the senior representatives to the school board. I was in Spanish club, SADD, History club, and prom committee. And I also volunteered at the Batch Foundation for certain events, especially during Christmas time.
Why was it important for you to be involved in this range of activities and extracurriculars?
NGUYEN: At first, I just thought it was a good way to get community service hours or look good on my record. But over the years, as I continued to do it, I saw the difference volunteer work would have. It made a difference in my high school experience along with other people's and it made me feel like I was doing something important.
Is there a teacher, staff member, or a community member who really made an impact on you during your time at Steel Valley?
RAGER: Our math teacher, Mr. Vickers. We had him for three years. He's really played an influential part in our lives. He’s not teaching us like in class, but also giving us life advice, and just kind of being there. Ms. Madigan, as well. Ms. Logan, Mr. Goga, they’re all there. If you ever needed something, you could go to them and they'd be there for you
NGUYEN: There’s just so many people here in the community that helped us get to where we are. Mr. Vickers, we've had him for three years and he's like a rock in our lives every day. And especially this year, I think, Ms. Tkach, she's very underrated. She's honestly been great for us our senior year.
We’re less than a month from commencement. What comes next for you?
RAGER: I plan on going to Penn State main campus. I want to major in forensic science. I'm not exactly sure which discipline, like biology or chemistry, but there's also a possibility of double majoring in psychology. After college, I want to work in an FBI crime lab. I want to help people.
I've always been drawn to crime shows. It interests me to see the motive behind people. I like helping figure that out. I also love science. Science was the one class that always challenged me and I liked that. I liked being challenged. I just want to be close to that field still, figuring stuff out.
NGUYEN: I either plan to attend the University of Pittsburgh or Penn State main campus to major in chemical engineering. I plan to possibly double major in another form of engineering while I’m there. I just plan to get my degree and possibly work in pharmaceuticals.
I always thought about being a pharmacist. But with engineering, I realized I could still be challenged in physics, math, and chemistry and those are my favorite subjects here at Steel Valley.
High School is a huge part of our lives. And now you have the next big part of your lives just a couple months away? How does it feel?
RAGER: It's pretty exciting. I feel like I'm ready. I want to get out there. I want to be a part of the world. I want to do it.
NGUYEN: I think I'm also ready. We finally get to branch out from our small little community and we get to reach out to more people and find out who we are.
This is such a tightknit community. What does it mean to you to be part of the Steel Valley community?
RAGER: It’s just being there with everybody. At events, everyone shows up. You know almost every person there. You figure yourself out with other people helping you. It’s not just, ‘Oh, my family helps or my friends helped me.’ It’s as a community.
NGUYEN: There's just so much kindness in this community. It's like we're all one big family. I've known Michayla since kindergarten and our families have always known each other so it was always nice just being a big family.
