Valleydictorians

Meet the high school valedictorians of the Valley and enjoy passages from their speeches, as they prepare to head off to some of the best colleges in the country. Some were chosen based on GPAs; others were selected by peer vote to be “student speakers.” Congratulations to all!

Zoë Bohn

Harvard-Westlake School

Attending Stanford University

"My coach was one of the many people I encountered at Harvard-Westlake who believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. And she taught me something that I hope all of my classmates have also learned here at Harvard-Westlake: that you can be the person you want to be, not just the person you see yourself as.” — Zoë Bohn


Benjamin Bottomley	Amber Levine	Austen Needleman
High Tech High School	Taft High School	Sierra Canyon School
Attending University of California, Berkeley	Attending Stanford University	Attending Harvard University

"In an instant, a life can change, or in a moment, a dream can be realized. Make sure to capture each day’s moments, simply as they are, and never forget to smile when you say cheese.” — Jordy Shinbane

Jordy Shibane (far left)

New Community Jewish High School

Attending Indiana University Bloomington

Summer Silbart

Campbell Hall

Attending Tulane University

Although I don’t find myself credible to give advice to everyone here on how to reach their goals, since I am in their exact same position, I want to pass on the best advice I ever received in high school. Before one of my class election speeches, I was shaking from nervousness, and an opponent of mine told me very simply, 'It’s all about confidence'—and proceeded to blow me out of the water. Ever since then, I have grown tremendously to become more self-confident and more sure of myself. I see no reason why this class cannot continue to do just that with such an impressive track record of achievements in four short years here at Chaminade." — Jake Stark

Jake Stark

Chaminade College Preparatory

Attending University of California, Berkeley


Luke Verlinksy	Delaney Lepak	James Bernstein
El Camino Real High School	Notre Dame High School	The Buckley School
Attending University of California, Los Angeles	Attending University of California, Berkeley	Attending Harvard University

Milana Bochkur Dratver

Milken Community Schools

Attending Yale University

"We all have the potential and are blessed with the opportunities to do great things; we just need to take advantage of what we have. We can’t be bystanders in our own lives for the most momentous things can happen if we live with intention behind our actions." — Milana Bochkur Dratver


Hayden Sand	Joselyn Ruiz	Bradley Emi
Crespi Carmelite High School	CHAMPS Charter High School	Viewpoint School
Attending University of Texas at Austin	Attending University of California, Berkeley	Attending Stanford University

Timothy J. Kang

Van Nuys High School

Attending Harvard University

"Even though many of us are afraid of these uncertainties that lay ahead, we will face them with old, familiar friends: sleep deprivation, unreasonable workloads and a whole lot of coffee.” — Timothy J. Kang


Sam Shpall (right center)	Ben Antin (left center)	Caila Glickman (far right)
New Community Jewish High School	New Community Jewish High School	New Community Jewish High School
Attending Northeastern University	Attending Stanford University	Attending Oberlin College