Competitive spirit pushes Galt valedictorian

By Julie Zuber Giese
News-Sentinel staff writer

A running bet with a family friend helped encourage 18-year-old Kyla Cathey to try her best in school.

If she graduated top of her class, she would pick up $1,000, her friend promised.
But it wasn’t the cash which pushed Cathey to earning grades to graduate as Galt High School’s valedictorian.

It was her competitive spirit, she said.
With more than a 4.3 grade point average, Cathey was first in her class all four years except one or two semesters during her junior year.

Cathey admits her outstanding grades come from the desire to learn anything from criminal justice to Latin dances, she said.

She plans to continue her education in the fall. She heads to Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. to possibly study law enforcement. She’s interested in becoming a homicide detective or Federal Bureau of Investigations agent.

Cathey said she’s a little scared about the trip across country, she said.

“The only thing I’m really going to miss are my friends and teachers,” she said.

She also looks forward to continuing karate classes, a passion she’s put on hold since October because of a hectic schedule.

“It’s fun. You get really close with the people there,” she said.
The martial art gives Cathey a chance to prove her own abilities.
“You have to rely on yourself,” she said. “If you fail, the responsibility falls back on you.”

Team sports like soccer are fun, but Cathey enjoys individual challenges, she said.

She hopes to learn some dance steps while in New York, she said. The Irish clog dance and the flamenco top her list. “I like to dance even though I’m horrible at it.”

In her spare time, Cathey sends out letters supporting environmental causes for the World Wildlife Fund, she said.

She was also involved in several school clubs including Key club, drama club, American Civil Liberties Union club, art club,

California Scholarship Federation and speech. She received the National Merit Scholar Commendation.

Cathey lives near Acampo with her parents, Glenn and Rebecca Cathey. She has three younger sisters: Justine, 16, and Jessie and Crystal, who are both 13.