Julia Succonic, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Class of 2020 valedictorian

Throughout the school year, students receive grades ranging from A’s to F’s. Some students find it harder to keep up in class than others; however, anyone may have the potential to ace their classes. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School alumna, Julia Succonic, knows best how to keep your grades up. She earned the title of valedictorian for the 2019-2020 school year.

Keys to success

Despite being the valedictorian of her class, Succonic still faced troubles in certain classes throughout high school. Like Succonic, many students are forced to complete courses that they may not necessarily find interesting in order to meet graduation requirements. While she was uninterested in some subjects, she did not let that deter her from doing her best.

“[It’s harder to focus in] classes where the subject just wasn't interesting to me. I'm not so much of a humanities person that only likes history, but I would still make sure to engage in class,” Succonic said. “Asking questions to the teacher, taking notes, and just forcing myself to continue.”

It is also essential to know which classes you should prioritize first. Some students excel in math and science classes while others find themselves doing better in English and history.

“There are certain classes that are hard and you just have to know how to prioritize which classes are more important. You know, which test to study for first and stuff like that,” Succonic said.

Besides doing classwork, paying attention in class, and asking their teachers questions, students also have to make sure they do well on tests. There are many ways to study for tests, but over time, Succonic decided what the most efficient studying tactic was for her.

According to Succonic, the best way to study for tests is managing time. Instead of studying for a test in one day, she studied a little each day making sure she fully understood the information. This could possibly give you more time each day for personal matters, while also getting the curriculum from school embedded into your memory.

Balancing school and personal responsibilities

If you still are struggling in school, it is useful to keep in mind that it is important to find a support system for yourself.

It can possibly become unhealthy for students to isolate themselves from their peers in school. By having a healthy support system around, it may make it easier to manage classwork and more convenient to reach out for help on assignments.

“I would always help my friends out so they would always help me out; it was like a trade sort of system where we all want to succeed so we're all there for each other and everything,” Succonic said.

While working hard in school, it is important to leave some free time for yourself. Spending all of your time on school work will cause you to become stressed out. Sometimes finding a way to balance in-school responsibilities and out-of-school activities is difficult.

“The key thing is just balancing your life so that you have a social life and not [only focusing] on studying,” Succonic said.

It is very important to not lose yourself in your schoolwork. In Succonic’s experience, spreading out time helps prevent becoming too overwhelmed.

“I think it's very important for you to be able to go out with your friends and have time to yourself because otherwise everything just becomes too overwhelming and you become unmotivated. You can't be doing school work all the time and not have some time for yourself,” Succonic said.

In order to manage the high stress levels that come with school, Succonic participated in several extracurricular activities such as playing the piano, going to math, science, and Spanish competitions for school, participating in internships, and joining honor societies.

Dealing with difficult classes

Many students may face difficulties with a teacher. Succonic recommends not to let that get to you and to stay positive.

“It's important to just put in the work and still go home and use the materials that they give because even if you don't necessarily like a teacher, they still provide you with the material necessary to learn,” Succonic said.

College students have told Succonic that sometimes kids have to teach themselves. There may be a teacher that goes too fast or does not explain things that well.

“When you prioritize what you do with your time, you can really put your mind to anything and succeed in a class,” Succonic said.

Personal preference

Although these are things that the past valedictorian suggests to do well in high school, it is up to each individual student as one method will not work for everyone. Whether a student prefers to avoid clubs completely or cram for tests the night before depends on the student and their personal preferences.

There is no single right way to ace school, nor is there an absolute method of becoming the top of your class. It is important to keep one’s preferences in mind and to build a plan that works best for the individual themself.