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Best effort pays off for valedictorian at Tokay High School

By Julie Z. Giese
News-Sentinel staff writer

Kyle Aarons didn’t strive to be at the top of his class.

He wanted to do his best, he said.

And Aarons did just that.

Kyle Aarons

The Tokay High School senior was selected as the valedictorian for the school’s Class of 2001.

It wasn’t a struggle for the soft-spoken teen to achieve a 4.38 grade point average.

“I remember pretty well so I don’t have to study that hard,” he said.

Aarons admits, though, it took hard work, determination and self discipline to be successful.

He credits his parents — David and Donna Aarons — for instilling a strong work ethic which helped to propel him to the pinnacle of academic success.

Beyond academics, Aarons, 17, participated in a variety of activities, including tennis, wrestling, Link Crew, Community Improvement Association, California Scholarship Federation, Spanish club, karate and math tutoring.

The Woodbridge resident also became a shutterbug by accident.

He enrolled in photography class to fill his class schedule. “I wasn’t really excited about it at first,” he said. But, it soon became one of his favorite classes.

“It’s just exciting to see shots turn out well,” he said.

He hopes to one day sell some of his nature photos, though he doesn’t expect to be the next Ansel Adams.

Instead, he’s considering a future in the science field.

He plans to attend Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., in the fall to study biology, chemistry or environmental science.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to major in, but it will probably be some sort of science,” he said.

Aarons is considering a possible career in research.

“We’ll just have to see what happens,” he said.

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