"All As, all the time for King's West valedictorians"

"Beth Olson and Kiera Reipschneider have a lot in common besides being co-valedictorians at King's West. Both were home schooled for a many years and both place a high value on their spiritual lives. They are also good friends despite competing rigorously for the honor they share.We were the only two people with 4.0s, but right behind us half the class probably had 3.9s, Olson said.When it became apparent both would end up with perfect grade point averages, Reipschneider said, they asked the principal whether they could share the title.It was a big relief when we found out we could, Reipschneider saidBoth said one of the advantages of attending King's West was that they were allowed to pray in class.Being a Christian is the most important thing to me in my life. Doing the best with what God has given me gives him glory - that's ended up in me being valedictorian, Olson said.She will attend college at Northwest College in Kirkland, where she plans to study secondary English education and theater production.My church is the Assemblies of God and Northwest is an Assemblies of God school. I also managed to get some scholarship money there, Olson said.Reipschneider, who has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, plans to study psychology or biochemistry at Western University in Langley, B.C. She hopes to eventually go on to medical school.It's a great school with a great science program and a low student-to-teacher ratio. Also, with the exchange rate the tuition is affordable for a private school, Reipschneider said.Both women feel well-prepared academically, socially and spiritually for the transition to college life, but Reipschneider said she will have to work on not spreading herself thin.I'm an obsessive overachiever. I try to do everything and I give it my all, but when I do that there is nothing left. It will be something I have to work on for a long time, Reipschneider said.Olson advised incoming high school students to pay attention to the little things, because they enrich everyday life.People say not to sweat the small stuff, but it's the small stuff that real life consists of. There are milestones, but you also remember the things that got you there, Olson said. "

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