Utah Virtual Academy Honors 198 graduates at Commencement
May 31 2023 - 10:46AM
Business Wire
Valedictorian plans run as POTUS in
2040
Utah Virtual Academy (UTVA) honored 198 senior graduates from
more than 75 cities and towns throughout Utah during commencement
exercises Tuesday. UTVA is a full-time online public school for
students in grades K—12.
Photos available here.
“We are so proud of the Class of 2023,” said Meghan Merideth,
executive director at UTVA. “They have worked hard. In fact, more
than 80 members of the class are honor or high honor students.”
The commencement keynote speaker was Representative Candice B.
Pierucci (R-Riverton/Herriman) of the Utah House of
Representatives. Rep. Pierucci is the Chair of the Standing
Education Committee, Vice Chair of the Conservative Caucus and
Chair of the Republican Women Lead PAC. Rep. Pierucci also serves
on the Government Operations Committee and Public Education
Appropriations.
“I would like to wish a big congratulations to the 2023
graduating class of the Utah Virtual Academy!” said Pierucci. “As
someone who has spent their legislative service advocating for
school choice and the need to empower parents with more learning
options for their child’s education, I’m so grateful for incredible
schools like the Utah Virtual Academy that allow students to
customize their learning experience and meet their educational
needs. I firmly believe that supporting education means supporting
the best approach for educating each individual child in our
state—UTVA empowers parents with the tools to do so!”
Kearns resident Madeline Kahl, UTVA Class of 2023 valedictorian,
finished her UTVA high school career taking a few final high school
classes along with college courses from the University of Utah. Not
just a high school scholar, but also an athlete, she also competed
with the Kearns High School swim team.
Kahl plans to become President of the United States in 2040.
Speaking on her ambitious goals following commencement, Kahl
said, “After I get my bachelor’s degree, I’ll be going hopefully to
Harvard Law School to study criminal law. After that I want to go
into politics. I believe I can be President [of the United States]
in 2040.”
When asked what it means to be valedictorian and how she
accomplished the recognition, she said, “I worked really hard. I’ve
pretty much had A’s for all of my life. And honestly, with being
able to do online school, I’ve been able to work on not just
learning, but also about the world, I’ve also been able to learn a
lot about myself—like if I really set my mind to something I can do
it as long as I’m in the right mindset.”
Kahl knows she has been able to get everything she needs from
her online school experience.
“It’s a lot more fun than doing public school because you get to
make friends online as well, especially if you’re an introvert like
me,” she said. “The teachers are absolutely fantastic. They are
truly the best of the best and they want you to succeed not only in
class, but also in life.”
Regarding her fellow classmates, Kahl said, “They can do it no
matter what background they come from—they can do it. They can
continue on with life and they can be successful. They just have to
want to be successful. And they don't always need everybody to like
them. I know that's a huge thing getting everybody to like them,
but they don't need to try and be good enough for everybody else.
They need to be good enough for themselves.”
Merideth said these seniors have conquered UTVA’s mission to
attain superior academic achievement with parental involvement, and
innovative teaching. All within a virtual environment that embraces
individual learning styles. “We are so proud to send our graduates
out into the world to accomplish everything they set out to
do.”
About Utah Virtual Academy
Utah Virtual Academy (UTVA) is an accredited online public
charter school that serves Utah students in kindergarten through
12th grade. The school is accredited by Cognia Accreditation and
Certification. As part of the Utah public school system UTVA is
tuition-free and gives parents and families the choice to access
the curriculum provided by K12, a Stride company (NYSE: LRN).
Stride offers learners of all ages a more effective way to learn
and build their skills for the future. UTVA also offers individual
course options for high school students enrolled in their resident
district programs, an approved charter school, private school or
home school as part of the Statewide Online Education Program
(SOEP). For more information about UTVA, please go to
utva.k12.com
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Cory Maloy Maloy PR (801)319-7900 cory@maloypr.com
Ken Schwartz Stride, Inc. 571-405-2211 kschwartz@k12.com
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