Peabody-Burns High School
Valedictorians reflect on impact of achievement
Staff writer
Peabody-Burns co-valedictorian Taylor Wallace excelled all four years of high school, but she said the importance of taking her education seriously didn’t sink in until junior year.
“Freshman and sophomore years we were trying to do as much as we could,” she said. “Junior year was when we realized this mattered, grades mattered.”
She and Tyler Entz each finished with a 3.9 GPA. Still, Entz said, he wishes he had performed better in some of his classes.
“I wish I’d taken English more seriously,” Entz said. “We already know English, so why would I pay attention in class? I just tried to get an A and be done with it.”
Entz said reducing the workload he took home helped him excel at school.
“I usually created time to get work done in school,” he said. “I managed time wisely, so I had a lot of extra time at home. There were only a few nights I had to do homework this year.”
Wallace said doing well meant making sacrifices other places. She held a part-time job through high school.
“You always have to do school work first, but I didn’t get to hang out with friends a lot because I had work and school,” she said.
Wallace said she plans to attend Butler Community College for her first year, and major in agriculture and communication. She then will transfer to Kansas State University.
“I live on a ranch, so ag is what I grew up doing,” she said. “The communications part is about computer design and marketing because I want to spread the word about ag more.”
Entz will major in agribusiness and accounting at Kansas State University, with the goal of becoming an account executive at a small firm, he said.