As the Greenwood Community High School salutatorian, Will Wolf may have had to settle for second place, but he has bragging rights over his older sister, who graduated third in her class several years ago.
Coming into a new school district as a freshman, Wolf wasn’t sure how he was going to stack up with his fellow students. He had previously attended Our Lady of the Greenwood, which only has classes through eighth grade.
Despite a sister who had graduated near the top of her class, the news that he had the top rank in his class as a ninth grader was still a surprise, Wolf said.
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“I wanted to prove myself to the new school to see how well I could perform,” he said.
Balancing time between sports and academics was his biggest challenge, Wolf said.
Late nights of studying were the norm throughout high school. With football in the fall, basketball in the winter and football workouts in the spring, he always had a sport he was committed to spending significant time playing or practicing. He usually couldn’t begin studying or doing homework until the evening after practice.
Wolf played safety for the football team and was a forward on the basketball squad.
“I had something after school all year round,” Wolf said.
Wolf said he had to focus on managing his time well and to get all of his work complete.
Earning the spot of salutatorian took a lot of work, but the effort was worth it, and not just because of the bragging rights over his sister, Wolf said.
All of the science courses Wolf took — his favorite was physics — sparked his interest in being in the medical field. He plans to study biology next fall, but wants to go on to become either a dentist or optometrist.
“I’m excited and ready for what’s next,” he said.
Chemistry 2, which he took his senior year, was one of the few classes he didn’t score an A+ in. Wolf ended up with an A-.
His advice to freshmen thinking about trying to get to the top of their class: “It takes a lot of work.”
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Age: 18
Parents: Bill and Becky Wolf
GPA: 4.5
Next: Attending Indiana University
Major: Biology
Career goal: Become an optometrist or a dentist
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