This year’s Kennedy Center valedictorians have been announced! The valedictorians for each of the seven major programs at the Center are as follows:
- American Studies: Zachary Stevenson
- Ancient Near Eastern Studies: Allyson Huffmire
- Asian Studies: William Martindale
- European Studies: Tyler Brown
- International Relations: Charlotte Rolfs
- Latin American Studies: Natalie Bradshaw
- Middle East Studies/Arabic: Garrett Maxwell
Valedictorians were chosen by the faculty of each major based on their overall performance, including academics, leadership roles, and other extracurricular activities. All seven will move on to professional or graduate school opportunities after graduation and look forward to applying their undergraduate education in a new context.
For Zachary Stevenson, American Studies valedictorian, his major has been a chance to explore many of his interests, including American literature, American history, and American politics. “I've really enjoyed how open-ended the American Studies program is,” he says. “The bulk of the major requirements comes from elective credits that draw from a wide variety of disciplines. I took a lot of American literature classes, a few political science classes, an urban history class and even a course in modern Church history that counted towards the major.”
Natalie Bradshaw, Latin American Studies valedictorian, appreciated the opportunities her major provided for her to get involved in interesting extracurricular activities. In particular, the Washington Model Organization of American States (WMOAS) course and its corresponding conference in Washington, DC, was impactful for Bradshaw. She says, “[It] was a formative experience for me because I learned that I love diplomacy and international relations. During that conference, I learned that I would love to work in that sphere after I leave BYU.”
And for students considering a Kennedy Center major or minor, Stevenson has some advice for getting the most out of the program: “Get involved in undergraduate research in some capacity; take classes that interest you, not ones that will be easy; and take advantage of your professors' expertise by asking questions and going to office hours.”
The Kennedy Center's convocation will be held on 25 April at 2pm in the Music Building, with valedictorian Allyson Huffmire as the student speaker.