Freshman year laid foundation for Freedom valedictorian

What does it take to become valedictorian of your high school? If you ask Freedom High School's Amber Basore, you have to start from the beginning, and by beginning she means freshman year.

As part of her volunteer service at Freedom, Basore worked on the Link Crew. One of the Link Crew's responsibilities was to help incoming ninth graders get acquainted with the school.
"I always tell freshmen that this first year is the most important of all the years in high school," Basore said. "If they don't get motivated and focus on their studies this year, it may not happen at all."

That was the course Basore took herself to become Freedom's valedictorian. The valedictorian is the student with the highest grade point average among graduating seniors. Basore wasn't sure exactly what her final GPA would be, but school officials believe it will be over 4.3.
Generally, a student who receives a 4.0 GPA has A's in most of his or her regular course studies. Basore said to earn a GPA higher than 4.0, it was necessary to take a few Advanced Placement courses and receive high scores in those classes, as well.

Basore and her family moved to Oakley when she was in the fourth grade. She first attended Gehringer Elementary School, and then moved on to Delta Vista Middle School before attending Freedom. While at Freedom, she participated in the California Scholarship Federation (CSF), Link Crew, French Club, and played three years on Freedom's tennis team.

While the high school does offer specialized AP courses for engineering, child development and the sciences, Basore said she didn't really take any of the specialized programs. In fact, even when she moves on to UCLA this fall, she has no idea exactly what she wants to study.

"I'm going to explore many things to begin with and see what I like," she said.

Basore said she chose UCLA because she likes the big-city atmosphere. She did receive a few small scholarships but said they didn't factor into her decision about what school she would attend.

"I know that with the economy the way it is today, I am going to need a degree to be successful, but what will bring me that success I don't know yet," she said.
Basore said she's sure that after UCLA she will attend a graduate school, but she is still working out the particulars. "I just know now that the more education you have behind you, the better off you are," she said.

For now, Basore said she is working on her valedictorian speech. She isn't sure exactly what she'll say yet, but she will wish her fellow classmates well in whatever they do in the future and hopes that they all find success.