Escuela secundaria de la bahía de la misión posee announced Jake Seecof and Maixime Vergnet as the 2024 graduating class valedictorians and Ellie Bauer as the salutatorian.
“We follow tradition in awarding these individuals. Valedictorian is the academic title conferred upon the highest ranking student among those graduating and is based on the highest grade point average (GPA),” said Dr. Eric Brown, Mission Bay High School principal. “Salutatorian is the academic title conferred upon the second-highest GPA in the class. And this year we had two students tied for the highest GPA. Mission Bay High School is proud of the hard work and achievement of these three seniors.”
Vergnet, who was born in France and started elementary school there, moved to the United States and enrolled at the French-American School, La Petite Ecole, in San Diego at the age of 7. He finished elementary school at Spreckels and enrolled at Pacific Beach Middle School to complete the IB program at Mission Bay for high school. Vergnet credits PBMS for nurturing his passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
In high school, Vergne enjoyed computer science classes with Mr. Jaffee. “I was able to create my projects based on my interests. Mr. Moura is the best teacher I ever had. He had a fantastic way of teaching the math coursework in a way where I will always remember it.”
Vergnet has stayed involved in high school as a member of the indoor and outdoor volleyball teams as well as the cooking, chess, and debate clubs. One of Vergnet’s last responsibilities as a high school senior is to give a speech at the June 6 graduation ceremony. With a 4.95 GPA and pursuing the full IB Diploma, Vergnet will be attending UC San Diego en el Fall, pursuing a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in computer science.
Mission Bay High’s co-valedictorian, Seecof, lives out of the district, and for elementary school, his family chose Barnard-Mandarin Magnet Elementary. From there, he remained in the Mission Bay Cluster, attended Pacific Beach Middle, and enrolled in the IB Diploma pagsrogram at Mission Bay High. A stand-out teacher from middle school for Seecof was Ms. Velasco.
“She supported me and my classmates mentally and normalized our expressions of emotions. This was influential for me because it helped me develop healthy coping mechanisms for stressful and emotional times down the line,” Seecof said.
His favorite classes at MBHS include history, Chinese, and biology. Participating in sports during high school was challenging because Seecof lives far from school. He has enjoyed being a part of the GSA Club en MBHS to support the LGTBQ+ community. He says that the decision to retake a failed physics class in 10th grade was pivotal for him.
“I decided not to give up and decided to retake the class, and suddenly I had become tied for valedictorian, which was a big surprise for me.”
Seecof has the opportunity to give a speech to the assembled graduates and their families on June 6 at Mission Bay High’s graduation. “I will most likely talk about themes of health and identity.
“I will be attending UC San Diego and I am planning to study human biology,” Seecof said. “I am excited to explore the present and discover the fascinating concepts of human biology, whether it may be the digestive system, the heart, or bones. I am ready to explore my opportunities and to embrace whatever my learning journey may be.”
Salutatorian Bauer is Pacific Beach through and through. She attended Barnard-Mandarian, Pacific Beach Middle, and finished Mission Bay High with a GPA of 4.86. Bauer credits her Pacific Beach Middle science classes with sparking her interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).
“In middle school, I participated in the Tech Trek program through UC San Diego as a seventh-grade student and I discovered my passion for STEM. This experience would impact my course selection in high school.”
Her favorite classes at Mission Bay include math with Mr. Moura, history with Mr. and Mrs. Panian, as well as engineering pathway classes. Bauer participated in field hockey all four years, soccer for three years, as well as a Peer Tutor and Tutor Me for Thinkist. She also worked as a high school researcher at UC San Diego.
Asked when she decided a GPA was a goal to strive for Bauer said: “To be completely honest, I did not decide that a high GPA was my specific goal. I wanted to take the highest-level classes that I was interested in. I knew that I wanted to achieve an A in these classes though. As a result of these factors, it just so happened I acquired a high GPA.”
Although the details are finalized yet, her speech at graduation will most likely emphasize “Gratitude to my family, friends, fellow students, and teachers.”
Bauer will attend UCLA in the Fall as an applied mathematics major.
