By Grey Backus
While the clock ticks down and the year comes to an end, Ryder Turner is grinding to get his grades as best as they can be.
Ryder is a senior who played football and runs track, but also is ranked top 5 academically in his class. He tries to make his schoolwork his main priority so he can make time for sports and other activities.
“Don’t compare yourself to other people,” Ryder says. ”Competing with others can stress you out and focusing on yourself is easier.”
His grades aren’t from luck, though, He studies for about three hours and splits it up between the night before and the morning of his tests.
Ryder does not let bad grades get to him. He says he reminds himself that he is human and tries to work hard 99 percent of the time.
In his football season he tore a tendon in his right hand which caused him to write left-handed for about two and a half months. “I wanted to stop trying so hard during this time but didn’t,” he says.
Nicki Southerland, who ranks first in the senior class, has to double down on assignments and work extra hard to keep her rank since she is traveling for track nationals and working on her healthy nut butter business, Nuttin Butter Than This.
She advises students not to procrastinate.
“It is a lot easier to work on things little by little every night, allowing you to know the material better,” Nicki says.
When she gets a bad grade, instead of getting worked up about it she strategizes new ways to study for that class.
Nicki has taken seven dual credit classes this year and will be running track at the University of Notre Dame.
Brayden Stanley, who ranks third in his class, gets his homework done and uses the gym as a reward for himself.
“Not wanting to turn something in has never been an option for myself,” Brayden says.
He advises students to put school work first but not to the point where it makes you upset.
Corbin King is another student ranked top 5 in his class. He will be attending Ball State University to study pre-med. Some colleges have given Corbin a lot of money toward their school. For example, Trine University offered Corbin up to $23,000 a year off his college expenses from having a 4.25 GPA and a 1460 SAT score.
Like a lot of people Corbin has not wanted to turn in assignments sometimes, but his competitiveness always has overpowered his desire to quit.
Corbin advises students to pay attention and to not be afraid to ask questions. “If you care enough you will learn more and it will become easier to establish good habits,” Corbin says.
Not everything is academic all the time, though. Last year in Mr. Lodl’s English class, Corbin and five of his classmates recreated the varsity basketball introductions. They had an announcer and everyone was flashing their lights.
“I liked being part of their creativity and helping them make some fun stuff happen,” Mr Lodl said.
