San Lorenzo Valley High School will graduate its class of seniors for 2025 this Friday, June 6, beginning at 10am at the SLVHS Football Field.

Among this year’s outstanding students are Valedictorians Jorin Fields-Rapley, Toryn Thompson and Amir Vered and Salutatorians Abigail Gabrielson and Keegan Hickey.

Read on to learn more about where these bright young minds are headed post-graduation.

Valedictorians

Jorin Fields-Rapley

• Attending: Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

• Majoring in: Biomedical Engineering

• Future plans: Biomedical research and also studying abroad in Europe.

• Favorite memories from SLVHS: My favorite memory from my four years at SLVHS is performing in Europe with the school band.

• Extracurricular activities: I participated in Wind Ensemble and Honor Band for all four years of high school and played water polo and cross country. 

• Lessons learned: The best lesson I will take with me after graduation is to always be yourself and you will find your people.

• Advice for the young ones: My advice for younger kids coming into high school is to always try new things and make room in your schedule for new adventures because high school is too short to not go out and have fun.

Toryn Thompson

• Attending: Stanford University

• Majoring in: Computer Engineering

• Future plans:  Intersecting Engineering with public policy to have real impact in communities. 

• Favorite memories from SLVHS: Aimlessly biking around late at night with an absurdly large group of people. Chaos ensued. Shout out to my fellow triphylers!

• Extracurricular activities: While I focused on personal hobbies and internships during my freshman and sophomore years, I was an audio engineer for theatre shows and school events from my junior to senior years, then became the co-president of a computer science club, the school board student trustee, a FIRST robotics team engineer, and a Link Crew leader in my senior year. To clarify, our school does not have a robotics team (yet!), but I joined one all the way at Pioneer High School in San Jose to get engineering experience.

• Lessons learned: The best lesson I’ve received is captured in my senior quote, “Balance and comfort suffocate passion only if you don’t understand why.” Nobody said this to me or put it in a book—it comes from my experience attempting to balance many extracurriculars and my social life during high school while, at first, also being reluctant to try new things. To put it in other words, the balance part means that attempting to balance your social life with extracurricular pursuits can ultimately prevent you from pursuing things that you are truly passionate about, as if you do not understand why you are doing an extracurricular and therefore are likely not genuinely passionate about it, you will have a hard time managing that balance and won’t have enough time to pursue your true passion. On the other hand, the comfort part deals with a lack of trying new things. If you don’t know why you feel compelled to stay within a comfort bubble and never address it, you may never find your true passion, leaving you stuck with the same interests for which you may not have nearly the same energy as something you have yet to discover. Overall, it’s a more specific take on “Do what you love.”

• Advice for the young ones: Try new things! You just entered the first campus in your K12 journey where extracurricular activities other than sports can really impact you—both in terms of career and social life! Additionally, you’re now eligible to join the thousands of online groups, competitions, and programs that cover almost any subject you can think of. Please do not be afraid to go exploring, that’s what all that free time in your freshman year is meant for.

Amir Vered

• Attending: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

• Majoring in: Electrical Engineering

• Future plans: Research & starting a company for fusion energy and/or asteroid mining.

• Favorite memories from SLVHS: Some of my favorite memories at SLVHS were in AP Physics with Mr. Schafer. He introduced me to physics and instilled a drive in me to learn more about our world and the forces that govern it. Particularly, I remember asking a very vague question about electron clouds after class, and without hesitation, he pulled out a specialized demonstration device — a vibrating metal plate with sand placed on top — and explained it thoroughly. This moment felt so spontaneous and kind, and it is one of the reasons that Mr. Schafer is one of my favorite teachers.

• Extracurricular activities: I have participated in a plethora of extracurricular activities. I have played water polo all four years at SLV, and club for three through Santa Cruz Water Polo Club. I have played the flute with our school ensemble all four years as well, and played a drum set in the jazz band for a few. I have also led and participated in various clubs, from a chess club to an ethical hacking club, each for a few years. Also, I work on engineering projects in my own time, creating chess bots, Arduino contraptions, and an arcade game system from scratch.

• Lessons learned: Learn to fail and learn to do it when you can get back up. This applies to sports, academics, music, and basically everything you do in your life. Learning is a process of growth, and many are afraid to face the failures that come with such a process. My counselor, Leslie Burns, in motivating me to take myriad external classes, has taught me the importance of such. She taught me to create a space where failure is okay; that way, when it is time to perform, whether in a test or big game you are ready.

• Advice for the young ones: The most important thing you can do is plan. Figure out what you want to do, make a spreadsheet, and stick to it.

Salutatorians

Abigail Gabrielson

• Attending: University of California, Los Angeles

• Majoring in: Mechanical Engineering

• Future plans: To work in the environmental engineering field.

• Favorite memories from SLVHS: My favorite high school memories include traveling to New Orleans with the band, as well as making new friends in general.

• Extracurricular activities: I participated in wind ensemble, water polo, soccer, and swim for four years. I was also in jazz band and Key Club for four years.

• Lessons learned: One of the best lessons I learned in high school was to always have an open mind. Often when trying new things, I’m surprised by how much I enjoy it. It’s a good reminder to never judge anything too quickly.

• Advice for the young ones: My advice for next year’s high schoolers: Do your best to always practice the benefit of the doubt; you never know what someone’s going through. Additionally, take every opportunity you can to explore your interests.

Keegan Hickey

• Attending:  New York University Shanghai

• Majoring in: Social Science

• Future Plans: Attending a 4-year college and eventually becoming a United States Diplomat. 

• Favorite memories from SLVHS: Being excited about school every day because I knew I had such supportive friends who made my life great.

• Extracurricular activities: I was in band for eight years; I did water polo for four years and swim team for three. I participated in our school’s production of “Grease”, and I was a member of countless clubs including the Tabletop Games Club which I was the founder and president of.

• Lessons learned: It is incredibly important to be just as humble and gracious as you are successful. I learned that from my own life, seeing how others reacted to me and recognizing my own bias toward others based on their humility or lack thereof.

• Advice for the young ones: Always challenge yourself with the hardest classes and the most extracurriculars you can — your future self will thank you.