With fewer than 50 days to graduation, everyone’s wondering who Arlington Tech’s valedictorian is, the person with the highest grade point average in the entire senior class. The answer isn’t as simple as you’d think. 

According to Dr. Van Lare, “In APS, there is no official one valedictorian, their policy is anyone above 4.0 is considered a valedictorian. So if you look at any of the comprehensive high schools, they’ll have around 150 valedictorians because students are graduating with over a 4.0.” 

That’s right y’all, the other high schools have more valedictorians than we have seniors. A few years ago, Washington-Liberty had around 200 valedictorians. Two-hundred! But there is still a reward for having the highest GPA: the coveted graduation speech. The person with the highest GPA of all of Arlington Tech will be given free reign with the mic during graduation. And who is that person?

First, let’s see who some of the seniors think it is. “Rachel,” says Cameron. Maddie thinks it could be Sam Watchman, while Alex says it’s Ananya. The Class of 2024 clearly has a lot of talent because if you ask anyone, they may give you a different prediction. Ivan thinks it’s Joseph Sparks. Good guess. Joseph is actually #2, and is giving the speech for the NOVA portion of graduation. 

So who is the valedictorian of valedictorians, the highest GPA of the senior class, the one who will be speaking at graduation in June?

It’s Alessia Crisafulli! Let’s hear what she has to say.

“I was caught off guard,” she says. “I knew I got good grades and I worked hard in my classes, but I still didn’t expect to have that high of a GPA and so I’m surprised.” She confessed to having some initial doubts, saying, “This wasn’t my goal, so I felt like I was stealing an opportunity that other people really wanted. But then I realized I worked hard, I put in the effort.” Her speech is still a work in progress. When asked for a hint of what it would be about she said “No… You can wait.” 

Now that the mystery has finally been solved, let’s all congratulate our graduation speaker!