Shadow Ridge is home to many exceptional scholars who never fail to surprise with their amazingness. Senior Olivia DeNofa is one of Shadow Ridge’s 2025 valedictorian candidates. Though she is very humble, she has put in a tremendous amount of hard work to get to where she is.
“I achieved valedictorian through maintaining a 4.0 GPA and reaching the weighted GPA cap of 4.95, but really I achieved it by continuously having phenomenal teachers along the way who made me enjoy learning,” DeNofa says.
DeNofa took a rigorous course load and her teachers all speak very highly of her.
Mrs. Michelle Quidato, AP biology teacher says, “Olivia is a wonderful and hard working student. She always strives to succeed in everything she does and she does it with a smile on her face. She is polite and helpful. I am lucky to have been able to teach her this year.”
All of her teachers have amazing things to say about her, including Mr. Kevin Bennett AP government teacher.
“Olivia has been in my AP Government class this year. Olivia is a great student and has averaged an A in my class for the entire year. Olivia has a great attitude and loves to learn. She always participates in class discussions and debates by bringing up good ideas and questions,” says Bennett.
Though DeNofa had put in work all these years, still she was slightly reluctant to share the news.
“I waited almost two months to tell my parents I was valedictorian because I didn’t believe it was true. I somehow convinced myself if I wasn’t the one to downplay my accomplishment other people would, so I kept it to myself,” DeNofa says. “It wasn’t until my parents found out that it started to become real (so very recently). So while some people see less of this achievement because of the GPA cap, I can say that being recognized for my efforts has helped me see myself in a more positive light.”
She didn’t always expect to be valedictorian. She didn’t really have this goal set out for herself but regardless she worked her hardest and it paid off.
“I never explicitly set out to be valedictorian only because it seemed out of reach. I always saw coming of age movies where the valedictorian would be this super star student who was headstrong and driven. And while I have the characteristics academically, I never really saw myself in that spotlight leadership role,” DeNofa says.
One major factor is being able to give a speech at graduation; many are excited to hear what DeNofa has to say. She has a speech
written and is excited to share it with everyone.
“Honestly, I knew I wanted to speak at graduation when I was told I had the opportunity to. Although, I struggled to sit down and write a speech. Much like many of the assignments I was given in high school, I waited until the last minute to write it, but some of my best work is done under pressure so I’d rate it a solid 7 just because after a month of sitting on it there’s definitely some changes I’d make as I continue to learn my final lessons at SRHS,” says DeNofa.
Through all her impressive work, she has acquired a lot of knowledge to pass on to future valedictorians alike.
“My best piece of advice and probably the biggest thing I learned in high school is that you only get out of something what you put in. If you choose to immerse yourself in challenging classes or even just putting yourself out there when joining sports or a club, you take away from each experience the level in which you applied yourself. It’s always in your best interest to go all out and seek your full potential,” DeNofa says.
