Mount Madonna School (MMS) is pleased to announce Brooke Staveland and Kavi Duvvoori as the 2013 senior class Co-Valedictorians, and Daniel Fust as Salutatorian. These three students earned these distinctions through hard work and focused effort, edging out their peers at the small Central Coast school known for strong academics, environmental education, performing arts and a competitive volleyball program. The 2013 high school graduation ceremony will commence at 9:30am on Thursday, June 13 at the school’s upper campus.
Staveland, who lives in Aptos, will attend the George Washington University (GWU), Honors Program this fall. She plans to minor in mathematics and has not yet declared a major. Staveland says she looks forward to exploring the many opportunities she’ll encounter both at GWU and in Washington, D.C.‘The best advice I have received in high school was repeated to me by nearly all my teachers: to ‘say yes’ to any opportunity that comes my way and to explore all possibilities. This has opened so many doors for me, and has truly increased my personal growth.
Duvvoori, a resident of Gilroy, will attend Brown University, an institution featuring a strong academic program and an emphasis on community.
‘Brown encourages its students to be independent,’ comments Duvvoori. ‘And like the best classes at MMS, the Brown classes I saw included fascinating readings and energetic discussions. I want to study as many subjects as I can in college but especially mathematics and literature. Math and writing were the subjects I explored most through high school. They are pretty different subjects, but at some level both are basically about finding ways to describe things and arrange symbols.’
”Don’t Panic,’ from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the best advice I have received yet. It applies in a lot of situations. In high school, not panicking is the first step in having a good time and making the education worthwhile. I firmly believe that at MMS the majority of what we learn can be important for us and actually interesting and exciting — and it’s important to remind oneself of that.
“More than one faculty member has influenced me greatly at MMS. Melinda Soares just joined the faculty this year but inspired our three person class with her great enthusiasm for learning and teaching, her experience in physics research, her broad interests, and her willingness to encourage our free form discussions — whether they were about the place of science in society or the appropriateness of insulting a shade of brown. My English teacher Melissa Sanders-Self on the other hand has taught me all four years of high school, and has inspired all of us with her love of literature, great story telling abilities, dark sense of humor, and dedication and interest in all of her students. She and [Head of School] Jivanti Rutansky every year on their own help the entire senior class figure out the college application process, which is an enormous responsibility. My former math teacher, Asha Pandya, was one of my most influential teachers and developed my interests in math and in positive subversiveness.’
Fust currently lives in Watsonville and plans to attend the University of California, Davis and major in mechanical engineering.
‘I’ve heard really good things about Davis’ program,’ says Fust. ‘When I visited I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the campus and the people I talked with.
“Throughout high school, I’ve often heard people say, ‘take every opportunity you get and honor the commitments you make’,’ Fust notes. ‘I do my best to live by this, and believe it helps me both in and out of school. I started at MMS as a preschooler, and over time many people have positively influenced me. I’ve appreciated having a variety of teachers with such interesting stories and who are so smart. In this past year, Melinda Soares and Oscar Perez came in, both very passionate about why they teach and have found ways to incorporate what they enjoy into their daily lives. Other teachers, like Melissa Sanders-Self and Matt Meachen are examples to me of how to live your life well. Almost every teacher I’ve had has taught me valuable life lessons outside of the curriculum that they are teaching.’
In addition to Staveland, Duvvoori and Fust, Mount Madonna School’s Class of 2013 includes eleven other students. They are listed below with their college choices:
Aimee Hopkins, University of California, Davis; Amber Zeise, University of California, Berkeley; Bryson Smith, University of California, Santa Barbara; Byron Rudy Hooven, gap year; Graydon Griffin, University of California, Davis; Jacob Getz, New York University; Joseph Frediani, University of Vermont; Karina Fox, Muhlenberg College; Sanika Lakka, Santa Clara University; Vyvyanne Mackey, University of California, Davis; and William Bryan, Northeastern University.
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Contact: Leigh Ann Clifton, Media & Public Relations,
Nestled among the redwoods on 355 mountaintop acres, Mount Madonna is a safe and nurturing college-preparatory school that supports students in becoming caring, self-aware and articulate critical thinkers, who are prepared to meet challenges with perseverance, creativity and integrity. The CAIS and WASC accredited program emphasizes academic excellence, creative self-expression and positive character development. Located on Summit Road between Gilroy and Watsonville