HOLLAND, Ohio — The countdown is on for high school graduations. At Springfield High School, the "top 10" graduates are doing something that hasn't been done in decades.
As this year's high school seniors get ready to put on their caps and gowns, the seniors at Springfield are reflecting on a major accomplishment.
"I'm going to the University of Toledo for civil engineering," Springfield's valedictorian, Ava Bal, said.
"I'm going to Ohio State to major in education," salutatorian Jewel Horak said.
College plans aren't too unusual. It's something else that sets these seniors apart: all of Springfield's "top 10" graduates are female. It's a true show of "girl power."
"It's amazing because you're dealing with talented kids every single day," Springfield High School Principal Robb Brown said. "So you're so lucky to be in this career. Obviously, every job has some hard days, but every time I get to work with kids like this it's incredible."
What they have done is a record of sorts, having an all-female top 10 hasn't happened in more than two decades, if ever.
But they'll tell you, it's just a normal day.
"It's pretty awesome when you think about it, but at the end of the day, this was our standard," Corrie Brown, ranked third among her graduating class, said. "We set ourselves at this standard and we expected it."
They will be the next engineers, accountants, psychologists and educators.
Some of them have plans to double major. All of them have already earned enough college credit to be considered sophomores.
"It feels great to have all this free college done. I feel prepared, I feel ready to take on college," Bal said. "It's really nice because I have two other sisters and my parents have worked really hard to get us all through college."
But the road hasn't been easy.
They were freshmen at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with hybrid learning, masks and everything else in between.
They say their teachers and other staff have played a big role in their success.
"I want to be somebody like that for somebody else," Horak said. "Another kid who is maybe struggling in the school system maybe they started to slip through the cracks and doesn't really know how to navigate it."
Nine of the "top 10" have been at Springfield for their entire education.
Their principal says all of them are driven, both in the classroom and outside.
"Whether it be on a sports field, a drama show, whether it be in the band, NHS (National Honor Society) or students in action, there's so much leadership," Robb Brown said. "It's just an awesome feeling, knowing that these kids are going to take care of us someday as an older generation. The future is in good hands."
Although they are at the top of their class, it's never been a competition. They're all friends and support each other.
"At the end of the day, we'll always bleed blue. We love Springfield, it's here, that's what matters. We're a community and we're a family," Corrie Brown said.
As for Springfield's "top 10" graduates for the 2022-2023 school year, here's how they rank and where they plan on going next:
- Ava Bal - University of Toledo
- Jewel Horak - The Ohio State University
- Corrie Brown - Bradley University (playing volleyball)
- Isabella Bolbach - Bowling Green State University
- Emma Eward - The Ohio State University
- Eliza Smith - Eastern Michigan
- Madelyn Lands - Kent State
- Olivia Meeker - University of Toledo
- Kayla Dixon - Kent State
- Rebekah Vasquez - Bowling Green State University