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Arnold and Bell named FUHS Valedictorian and Salutatorian

This year, the Fallbrook High School Valedictorian was Lianna Arnold, and the Salutatorian was Grace Bell. Both graduates have lived in Fallbrook their whole lives, and they said they felt very grateful to be recognized for their consistent, hard work over the years.

During high school, Arnold achieved a GPA of 4.46, and Bell achieved a GPA of 4.36. They have both taken multiple Advanced Placement courses at Fallbrook High School, and Arnold was also enrolled at Mira Costa Community College taking French courses.

After learning that they were named Valedictorian and Salutatorian, Arnold and Bell both said they felt honored for their titles.

"Sophomore year, I was announced as top of the class, so I had a feeling I would be one of the top graduates," said Arnold. "It felt really good to have my hard work and effort validated."

When Bell learned that she had been named Salutatorian, she said she felt extremely excited but nervous for her speech at graduation.

"I wasn't expecting it, I thought I would be in the top five or top 10, but not top two," said Bell. "I was shocked, and really nervous because of the public speaking, but my speech actually went better than I expected, and my entire family was so proud of me."

In the fall, Arnold plans to attend Georgia Institute of Technology and she will be majoring in nuclear engineering. She is considering multiple different career paths, including an engineering career in the Navy or in the medical field.

Bell will be attending University of California, Irvine with a major in mathematics and a minor in computer science. She has not decided on a career path yet, but she looks forward to attending UCI in the fall and finding her path on the way.

As the top two 2020-2021 graduates from Fallbrook High School, Arnold and Bell have learned many lessons academically and socially the past four years.

One piece of advice Arnold would like to share with other students is to take chances and pursue passions during high school.

"There are only four years of high school, if something interests you, try it," said Arnold. "Only good will come from it."

Arnold took this lesson to heart during high school, she participated in many extracurriculars including Skills USA, Model UN, Academic Decathlon, Garden Club, the Tomahawk newspaper, and more. Being able to take part in these extracurriculars greatly benefited Arnold's high school experience, she said.

Bell would like to encourage other students to always try their best and pave their own paths.

"In order to succeed, try hard in every class and do your absolute best," she said. "And don't be afraid to follow your own path, don't follow your friend's paths or your teacher's paths, follow your own."

Arnold said she would like to thank her parents and her teachers for supporting her the past four years and helping her when needed. She would also like to thank her friends, including Bell, Makenna Sandoval, and Jacob Rowan for always reminding her to take care of herself.

Bell said she would like to thank her parents, sister, teachers, and her friends for supporting her throughout this experience and for continuing to believe in her.

 

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