Congratulations to Alanna Pyke - 2015 Valedictorian, Massena High School

Alanna's choice of school after graduating from Massena Central will be to attend classes at Yale. Her field of interest is Bio-Medical Engineering. Her interest in that area was sparked when she attended Clarkson's Engineering Camp in grade 8 through the Horizon's Program. At first, Alanna gave thoughts to become a doctor but then realizing how much she enjoyed Biology, she combined her highest interests.

When asked about the people who inspired her the most, she replied quickly, "My parents because they always encouraged me to do well and they never really limited me." She also included all her past and present teachers that helped her get where she is now.

What advice would you offer younger students to encourage them to do well?

"Time management is key and get your homework done. It helps to involve yourself at school, like sports and clubs. That will teach you how to manage your time," said Alanna. A student just needs to know that they want to "do well." They have to have the discipline to study and do their work. Alanna has a daily routine with her sports, getting home, eating and then homework.

Balancing sports and academics can be made easier if some of the homework is done in study hall and sports are usually a couple of hours so she gets some done there as well.

"I hope that my success will inspire the next generation of kids moving up. I feel very good about being the first Native American to be a Valedictorian at Massena Central School," Alanna added.

"Over spring break we went on a school trip to Costa Rica through our Spanish class. It was really nice there and when we got home, there was still snow on the ground. I have also traveled to Florida, Myrtle Beach, Niagara Falls, Washington DC and Boston. I would like to see more of the world in Europe and South America including United States," said Alanna.

Some of the awards that Alanna has earned are The Clarkson Leadership Award which was a scholarship award, Top Female Award at the Academic Banquet in grade 9 and 10. She also received the highest grade in Spanish for Spanish Honor Society. Alanna is also in the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society. In June, there will be Awards Night and Alanna is expecting to receive some more awards. The very next day, her class will be attending their Senior trip.

For sports, Alanna won Academic All Northern Honors in her sports, Soccer, Track, and Lacrosse while maintaining a high average in her classes. She has her own personal album where she enters all her important certificates, awards and her acceptance letters. She had applied to 17 schools and received acceptances from 13 of them. Initially, her first choice was to be Brown University and when she visited, she found that they really didn't have a huge Native program. Visiting school choices is so important and to have students ask many questions on their visit. Alana visited Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Yale, Harvard and Princeton. The Yale campus was comparable to the Ottawa surroundings, quiet and nice.

During her stay at Massena Central, she was so disappointed when she learned that there would not be a Mohawk and Culture program for the Native students. She took a while to accept the fact and eventually signed up for Spanish for her language requirement. She fulfilled her credits for a language and ended up excelling in Spanish.

Alanna's sister Kristin recently graduated from SU and she was also the Valedictorian for the Native students there. What a double honor for Patrick and Holly along with their son Hunter who has been staying very busy with sports and also performs well academically. He is a talented lacrosse and hockey player.

A valedictorian is a student with the highest average in the class and a salutatorian is the student who places second. Alanna completed her classes with an average of 98.29%. A job well done, Alanna.

The IB Program at Massena causes a student to be more challenged with more projects and has to meet the deadlines, more homework and involves more vigorous classes. To obtain a diploma in the International Bachelorette Program, a student has to take 6 classes each day including Phys. Ed. A student also has to take a TOK (Theory Of Knowledge) class to discuss what a student knows, how they know it, and the ways of thinking.

You are at the point in your life where you will be on your own, somewhat, as you go away to school. You'll be learning your way, meeting new people, and opening up to new daily experiences. Congratulations to you for this wonderful honor. As you move on ahead, keep in touch and do your best. You have a great supportive team, your family. Alanna, you have given Ahkwesahsne a big reason to be proud!!

Niawenko:wa for sharing your time with me. Sesi K.