There are 11 valedictorians graduating from Rufus King High School Thursday. As far as records go back, that's the most the high school has ever seen. Students are happy to share the stage.
"It feels like an honor, definitely," said Alice McGuinness.
"I think to be a part of a large group of valedictorians is pretty incredible," said Sebel Fusi.
"It's not really setting one person apart, it's just cool that we have the opportunity to all have that motivation," said Allison Gatz.
The students did a collective speech.
"We figured that nobody wants to listen to 40 minutes of speeches, and we don't want to speak for 40 minutes," said Gatz.
They hope their message sticks with their peers.
"I definitely hope that my fellow students will understand that time is limited and that they should value every moment as if they'll never get it back, because everything that we do has meaning and will impact us in the future," said Fusi.
Rufus King Principal Tanzanique Carrington is proud of the group.
"Just to know that we have that caliber of students where there's such a large number of kids that are able to achieve at high levels is amazing," said Principal Tanzanique Carrington.
Their work is paying off, but the seniors are just getting started.
"I'm proud to be the principal of such amazing kids that are going on to do great things, but that means that they have been perfect since they've been here. All of them have 4.0 grade point averages," said Carrington.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Loyola University and Princeton University are some of the schools the students are off to in the fall. They have their sights on majors including economics, bio chemistry and international affairs.
While this year's class of 11 valedictorians set a record for Rufus King, the MPS record still belongs to Reagan High School, which had 14 in 2017.
