Future bright for top IVHS 2010 grads
From our weekly issue dated June 02, 2010
Illinois Valley High School“s 2010 Valedictorian Eddie Goynes (left) and Salutatorian Heidi Unger. (Photo by Scott Jorgensen, I.V. News)
The 2010 commencement ceremony at Illinois Valley High School has come and gone, but the future remains wide open for valedictorian Eddie Goynes, salutatorian Heidi Unger, and their fellow graduates.
The ceremony was held on Tuesday, June 1. Goynes earned a grade-point average of 4.0; Unger achieved 3.96.
Goynes has lived in Illinois Valley his entire life. He began his education in pre-school and kindergarten at Takilma Dome School, and said that experience has proven valuable.
“I think it helps a lot to be studying that early,“ Goynes said. “The earlier you are, the easier it is to learn stuff.“
He attended Evergreen Elementary School and Lorna Byrne Middle School before arriving at IVHS. Although it wasn“t initially his goal to be valedictorian, Goynes tried to excel in all his classes.
But during his junior year, he noticed that he was high in his class standings.
At that point, Goynes began taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes and decided to pursue the valedictorian position.
“Those AP classes were easier than I thought they would be,“ he said.
Goynes said that his favorite classes were calculus and physics. His extracurricular activities included involvement in Cougar Pals, Mathletes and the Math and Integrated Learning Experience (SMILES) programs.
That involvement already has started to pay off for Goynes, as the SMILES program has given him a scholarship to attend summer school at Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis. Goynes is set to start that on June 20.
The summer program will familiarize him with the OSU campus, which will come in handy when he begins attending there this fall. Goynes said he plans to study electrical engineering, and added that he may even pursue a masters degree.
Unger took a much different path to the head of the 2010 graduating class.
She grew up in a U.S. Navy family, and lived in Texas, California and Washington state before her father retired from the service and brought her to Illinois Valley in the sixth grade.
Describing herself as a former “trouble child,“ Unger said that faith in Jesus Christ helped turn around her life. She began applying Christian principles to her life, and became more involved in extracurricular activities.
She spent three years as a member of a church worship team, has taught a Bible club, was a business manager for the Associated Student Body, president of the Interact Club, served as a class officer, and participated in the volleyball, track and cross-country teams.
While at IVHS, Unger said that her favorite class was psychology. Her immediate plans are to attend Portland Bible College.
The salutatorian said she would someday like to be a missionary to India. But her long-term goal, she noted, is “pure happiness.“
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