Typically, the overwhelming lack of motivation commonly known as “senioritis” takes its toll on most seniors at Adams.  There are, however, some seniors who persevere and keep their GPAs as high as possible.

This year’s Scholars of Highest Distinction finished with a grade point average above a 3.9 and a score of at least a 32 on their ACT while taking  four or more AP classes.

These senior scholars include: Sarah Blust, Jordan Carlson, Rachel Eble, Juliet Filbin, Samuel Garfinkle, Farris Jaamour, Daniel Jin, Lahin Lalani, Jenie Li, Matthew Lillie, Scott Lillie, Jenny Liu, Michael Mazza, Nevin Mital, Pranav Raj, Carly Reno, Kilike Steyn, Dayna Tan, Ashley Tjhung, Collin Vasseur, David Wang, Austin Xu, Nina Zhang, and Allison Zweng.

Juliet Filbin found inspiration through her sister to be the best she could be. According to Juliet, “my sister did really well in high school, which inspired me to put in the time and effort to do well. She also had a really good work ethic and was way more organized than me which helped a lot because it was a great example of how I should act to be successful.”

Senioritis is a very real “disease” that affects all high school seniors. Keeping a high GPA can be very difficult.  “Senioritis definitely exists, but I want to say it didn’t affect me as badly as it could have,” Austin Xu said.  In the end, fighting the urge to slack on his schoolwork paid off.

Going to college is a big step for anyone, but being a first generation college attendee as well as a Scholar of Highest Distinction is not a common combination. “It was my own personal drive. There was a little more push because it looks good on college apps, but it was mostly all just for myself,” Lahin Lalani said.

The Scholars of Highest Distinction worked very hard for four years.  Whether they were told they must live up to their potential or had parents who instilled a very good work ethic, this honor is definitely well-deserved.