As Ridgeview’s graduating class counts down to graduation, the leaders of the Pack make their mark as top of the 2025 class. Spring semester for seniors means counting down the minutes until graduation, but for a select few, it means cementing themselves as first in the graduating class. As of April this year, the top of the class consists of ten students: Nathan Chavez, Hardik Chopra, Aylin Hernandez, Damian Hernandez, Sukirat Kaur, Yahaira Mata, Minnah Mirza, Miguel Quiroz, Jiya Sharma, and Parjot Sodhi, all with a cumulative weighted GPA of 4.5. But how did these students get to such a high achievement, and what does life after high school look like for some of them?
Jiya Sharma is one of the many students who not only dedicated time to her academics, taking a handful of honors and A.P. classes, but also dedicated time to the many extracurricular activities she was involved in. With spending four years on the girls’ tennis team, two years on Mock Trial, two years in Virtual Enterprise, and participation in on-campus clubs, she stacked her high school years with active involvement in and outside of the classroom. Sharma gives gratitude to the support system she’s built, saying, “Whether it’s from my friends or my family, throughout every achievement, they were always there cheering me on.” Sharma not only accomplished being top of the class, but also achieved being a tennis captain her senior year and placing second in the nation for V.E. ‘s finance competition. Sharma plans on attending the University of California, Berkeley in the Fall, majoring in Economics and hopes on becoming a lawyer in the future.
For some graduating seniors like Minnah Mirza, they’ll not only be receiving their high school diploma, but in addition an associate’s degree from Bakersfield College. Although Mirza prioritized her academics, she was still able to see the importance of participating in traditional high school experiences like sports and attending school events. Although Mirza hasn’t decided where she’ll attend college in the fall, she has plans on pursuing a career in the medical field. “I’ve always been interested in biology because my family has a history of problems with heart disease, and it’s something that’s kind of been expected of me in my family, but I started to pursue it and grew a passion for it,” Mirza explained.
Although most students plan on leaving Bakersfield for college, others find themselves wanting to stay close to home. Yahaira Mata is a student who excelled in academics, graduating with eight honor and A.P classes and got into 8 colleges. Mata explains that when deciding where to go to college California State University of Bakersfield had everything to offer, “I decided I wanted to major in nursing because I have a passion for helping others and I want to be in a workplace where I can put my interest, passion, and skills to use. This major is offered at CSUB, and they have a great nursing program, and I have family in Bakersfield that will always be there to support me.”
These bright students have only a few weeks left at Ridgeview, but are finally able to see all of their hard work pay off. With a competitive class, all ten students showed dedication and grit to be at the head of the Pack!
