Grace Ramsay and Matthew Lacy have been named valedictorian and salutatorian for the Parke Heritage High School Class of 2022. The graduation ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. May 28.
Since an early age, Ramsay has had the goal of being valedictorian. This goal and her strong work ethic have been the key to her success at being at the top of the class.
“At a young age, my aunt inspired me as she was the valedictorian of her class at Turkey Run in 1989, so I set a goal to become the valedictorian of my class just like my aunt and I have been striving to obtain that goal ever since,” Ramsay said. “Combined with my work ethic, another key to my success is my competitiveness. This competitiveness was fueled by my intelligent classmates. If it wasn’t for this smart, driven Parke Heritage class of 2022 whose top ten students all exceed a 4.0, I can easily say my GPA would not have reached a 4.699. My friends and classmates would push me to stay up an hour later or get up an hour earlier after a long night of volleyball, basketball or tennis. I share my valedictorian honor with my classmates who helped me reach my utmost potential.”
During her high school career, Ramsay has been a member of the volleyball, basketball and tennis teams for all four years. She has also played travel basketball for two years. She was a member of the volleyball team that won the sectional championship her junior year. She has earned All-Conference for girls basketball for three years. This year, she reached her goal of joining the 1,000-point club as she finished her basketball career with 1,068 points.
Her academic awards include Academic All-State Athlete for girls basketball and was nominated for the Super Senior Award. She has received a certificate of Academic Excellence in Pre-Calculus, Advanced Placement Chemistry, History and Human Body Systems. Ramsay also placed at the state level for the Daughters of the American Revolution Essay Contest for four years and reached her goal of winning first in the state her last year participating in the contest. She has also had school artwork which has placed in the d’Arlier Art Competition.
In addition to athletics, Ramsay has been a member of student council for four years and is currently the executive treasurer. She is also co-president of National Honor Society. A 10-year member of 4-H, she is a part of the 4-H Beef and Horse and Pony Club. She is also a member of the Russellville Community Church.
She is the daughter of Kirt and Carmen Ramsay of Milligan. She plans to attend Purdue University to study public health. She would then like to further her education and go on to medical school and become a physician.
Like Ramsay, salutatorian Matthew Lacy also set a goal of being at the top of his graduating class.
“My journey to salutatorian has been a long one,” he said. “On a personal level, it required a high level of motivation, comprehension and diligence. I had set a goal as a freshman to be in the top two of the class upon graduation, and I made that goal a focus. In a practical manner, getting there required me to take many of the dual-credit classes offered by Parke Heritage for the boost they would give my GPA. My junior year — when I first reached the rank of second — I completed 40 credit hours of college courses. Ultimately, what helped me the most as I worked the past seven semesters was my intrinsic desire to learn and perform to the best of my ability in a school environment. This was what kept me going when the work overwhelmed me, or the gap between myself and one of the top spots seemed too large. I knew that I didn’t have to be the best, but only my best. Working with that in mind, I was able to keep focused and keep on track with my goal.”
Throughout high school, Lacy has participated in student media, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Honor Society, Christian Music Club and served as captain of the English Academic Bowl. He has also been a member of the track and field team, the Parke County Youth Soccer Association, 4-H and the Rockville First Baptist Church Media Team.
His academic awards include Top Student Award for AP World History, AP U.S. History and Quantitative Reasoning. Lacy also earned Third Place Recognition in the English Division of the State Academic Super Bowl in 2020.
He is the son of Brent and Elayna Lacy of Rockville. His future plans include attending Indiana Wesleyan University in the fall and triple-majoring in English Education, Creative Writing and Honors Humanities. He plans to become an English teacher in a school much like Parke Heritage.
