Kemp smiled for her senior READ picture.
Senior Raven Kemp has been attending University Academy since she was in kindergarten, and she was the valedictorian of the Class of 2025. As she moves forward in life, Kemp plans to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia and hopes to become a physical therapist or athletic trainer.
Kemp said she would sum up her high school experience as fun and helpful, with her proudest accomplishment being finishing as the top student in her class.
“It actually was not as easy as it may look, and I struggled a lot,” Kemp said.
But in the end, all of her hard work paid off.
While at UA, Kemp was involved in National Honor Society, student council and 20/20 Leadership, while also playing volleyball. She has been a part of various projects and NHS community service events throughout her years in high school, as well. She was careful to balance academics with her extracurricular activities and learned the importance of taking breaks when necessary.
Kemp’s high school experience shaped her goals for the future by giving her perspective and humbling her. She said there were many moments where she doubted herself. For instance, when she first started dual credit classes, she pushed herself to keep going and made a goal to try her best and never give up.
A teacher who made a big difference in her life is Mr. Dustin Havens, Kemp’s dual credit history teacher. He hadn’t taught Kemp early on in her high school career, but he said he’d heard great things about her. He was disappointed she wasn’t slated to be in his dual credit U.S. history class her junior year, but after meeting her and her mom at Meet the Teacher Night, she was added to his roster.
“I had never spoken to her once, and yet in this very first conversation, Raven was open, forthright, clear-eyed and, most importantly, communicated to me in no uncertain terms that she wanted to be in the class,” Mr. Havens said. “It was as if she had known me for years. This is Raven’s superpower; she engages with the world of school the way that a 40-year-old would.”
As much as Mr. Havens enjoyed Kemp, the feelings seem to be mutual.
Kemp said, “He pushed me no matter if I got an exceptional grade or not. He always gave me the truth with no sugarcoating.”
As she looks ahead to start her new journey, she’s excited about moving from a smaller school to a larger one. While Kemp begins her new chapter, she encourages underclassmen to be as successful as possible by trying hard to maintain a high GPA and take high school seriously.
With the accomplishment of earning valedictorian under her belt, there’s no telling what Kemp will conquer next. She is ready to take what she learned at UA and apply it at the collegiate level.