With big dreams to attend New York University (NYU) and be valedictorian of her class, junior Emily Sleezer is concentrating her determination more than ever.

“I know being valedictorian will be a lot of work to get to,” said Sleezer. “But I’m prepared to put in that work.”

Sleezer intends on taking additional AP classes as well as online courses to help boost her GPA and HPA, and as a lover of the world of super heroes, Sleezer compares them to who she would like to be once she’s at her academic pinnacle.

“They have a lot of power and are admired,” said Sleezer. “I’d like to be someone for people to look up to and draw inspiration from, like them.”

Sleezer doesn’t only have big dreams inside the classroom, she is also involved in several after school clubs including Vis Tech Club, Key Club, and is a member of Science National Honor Society. Currently, she’s the historian of the Vis Tech Club and aspires to be the president next year. She has recently become one of the two vice presidents of Key Club for the upcoming year.

Despite the amount of hard work and focus her goals require, she’s not willing to let that keep her from having a good time and enjoying herself.

“I want to do a lot my senior year and make my time in high school as fun and as productive as possible,” she said. “I like school and these are some of the best years of my life basically, so I might as well make the best of it.”