Central High School recently announced the valedictorian and salutatorian of the Class of 2015. Alexya Barnes earned valedictorian, and Judith Bell earned salutatorian. This is the first time in Central’s history that two African-American females have held the two titles. Both ladies are humbled and are focused on their remaining days as seniors.

“I feel really happy. I feel overjoyed that my hard work has payed off,” Alexya expressed.

“I am really excited that I earned this position because we all started off at the same level, but Alexya and I were able to rise to the top,” Judith warmly commented. “It’s an honor, and at the same time, I know that we earned it.”

Achieving the positions of valedictorian and salutatorian did not come easy for both ladies. They stayed home to study and complete assignments rather than attend school events.

“Procrastination,” Alexya simply stated when she was asked what was one of the hardest obstacles she had to deal with in order to keep her grades up.

“Getting distracted in general, and sometimes, I would want to go to a basketball or football game,” Judith further stated.

Balancing a job, extracurriculars, and schoolwork was also a challenge. However, it did not stop them from striving to maintain excellent grades. Alexya currently has a 4.997 accumulative GPA and scored a 27 on the ACT. Judith holds a 4.995 accumulative GPA and has a 28 ACT score. The Central Digest congratulates these hard-working ladies and wishes them all the best of luck on their seemingly-bright futures.