.: Valedictorian

Each quarter at Clark College caused Emily Johansson to worry that she was not going to be able to pull off another “A.” However, as one of the Valedictorians with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, she overcame what most students view as a challenge of earning straight A’s.

Johansson was born in Portland, Oregon but has lived in the Battle Ground area all her life with her eight brothers and sisters.

When Johansson was informed of her Valedictorian status in April, she was not very surprised because she still had a 4.0 GPA and assumed that continued A’s would result in her being a Valedictorian. She did not find Battle Ground High School to be that troublesome, but thought the Running Start program was more demanding since it was college level.

Of all the teachers Johansson had while still attending BGHS, she decided that her favorite was Ms. Lamoreaux because she “made her students learn.”

Trying to remember the hardest class she had completed at BGHS, she thought out loud, “Algebra II was probably my favorite, but there wasn’t anything really difficult. Math was the most difficult I guess? No, accounting was a little harder. I’ll say math was the easiest.” Eventually she concluded, “It was all the same.”

Johansson would like to encourage others by telling them to “do what they have to do” and by congratulating all the seniors who are graduating this year.

.: Emily Johansson

.: Brandon Hu

.: Valedictorian

Brandon Hu was born in California and moved to Battle Ground when he was in sixth grade with his older brother, Zhi. His hobbies include studying, reading, playing the violin, running, weightlifting, and flying kites.

Hu’s most enjoyable classes were A.P. Government, A.P. Calculus, and virtually all those involving science, especially if they were taught by Mike Roth. “I’ve had most of my favorite classes with him,” Hu said. “He’s a pretty fun guy who tells a lot of jokes.”

When he was a sophomore, Hu joined track and field and as a junior participated in cross country as well. He was also part of the National Honor Society and the Future Business Leaders of America Club. Community service activities he has been involved with include the Walk ‘N’ Knock food drive, Don’t Litter, crossing guard volunteer duty, and tutoring.

In response to the question of when he found out he was a Valedictorian, he answered without hesitation, “Oh, I already knew when I started high school.” With a confident smile, he added, “I thought it would be great to give the speech at graduation; I’d rather be the person up there than sitting down.”

Excited about his future get-rich-quick scheme, Hu explained that after high school he plans to major in engineering before earning his Masters.

Hu’s advice for other students is to “do what you think you should do, what you like to do. Just be yourself.”

.: Valedictorian

Ryan Cranke said he was excited to find out he was Valedictorian because even though he saw it coming, “it was nice to finally be able to put it on scholarship applications.” He said he found out from his dad, who was congratulated on his son’s behalf by Principal Tim Lexow.

“I never really strove for a 4.0 until the end of my sophomore year,” Cranke said. But after receiving four perfect report cards, he realized he could probably become Valedictorian.

Cranke has lived in Battle Ground his whole life and has one older brother. He is involved with National Honor Society, is a member of the Interact Club, and is a Stripes mentor for incoming freshmen.

Cranke played football and basketball in middle school, and although he didn’t play any high school sports, he likes to ski, water ski, and ride motorcycles. One of his less active hobbies is reading.

Some of Cranke’s favorite teachers were David Groat because he “was willing to stay after school for three or four hours every day to help anyone,” Jonas Fridriksson because “he managed to make A.P. U.S. History enjoyable even though it was a very difficult and stressful class,” and Cindy Jager “because she managed to teach me calculus.”

After high school, Cranke said he wants to major in business administration at the University of Washington. After that, he plans to “maybe go into law school or business school and work into accounting or finance.”

Like many students, Cranke had ups and downs with his classes. “There were a couple days when I thought that there was no way I’d be able to keep my grades up,” he said, “ but I always somehow managed to do it in the end.”

.: Ryan Cranke

.: Jennifer Karvonen

.: Salutatorian

Jennifer Karvonen suspected she was Salutatorian after Principal Tim Lexow announced that this year’s graduating class had three Valedictorians. Since she knew her class rank was fourth with a cumulative GPA of 3.993, she was only slightly surprised to have her position confirmed by Lexow later.

Born in Portland, Karvonen has lived in Battle Ground her whole life with her four sisters and eight brothers. She hasn’t ever played an instrument or participated in a sport, but as she puts it, “I’ve never been very coordinated, so it’s probably a good thing.” On the other hand, she does love “being with friends and family and reading a good book.”

At Battle Ground High School, her favorite classes were math, photography, and Financial Operations (the iQ Credit Union class) because she thought they were really fun.

The Skills Center program, where she took Legal/Medical Office Applications, was one of her hardest classes at high school because “there was so much information that was new to me, and I had to go out of my comfort zone a few times.” Even though “at some points it was a bit harder” to keep up her grades, Karvonen claimed that becoming Salutatorian “just happened.”

Despite her preference to acknowledge all of the teachers she had enjoyed, she named Kevin Weeks, Anne Davern, Karla Kalian, and Larry Peck as her favorite teachers because “I either learned a lot from them or they had a great personality.”

Currently, she is working for an insurance company, and after she graduates, she has decided to earn her license so that she can continue to sell insurance for them.