A family legacy of sorts will come to its brilliant conclusion this week at Iola High School when Miah Shelby dons her cap and gown and receives her diploma as one of six valedictorians with the Class of 2022.
She’s the youngest of five, four of which — Tyler, Kassy, Sidney and now Miah — will have been named valedictorian, having maintained a perfect, 4.0 grade-point average.
“I just want to try and match their level,” Shelby said. “That’s not what they put on me or anything. That’s what I put on myself.”
Indeed, the daughter of David and Kathy Shelby maintained an all-A average the hard way, even enrolling in calculus this semester — even thought it wasn’t necessary to graduate — because of the challenge.
“I’ve always wanted to challenge myself, to try my best,” she said. “Some learning comes easy to me. I really enjoy history classes. I enjoy what I’m learning.
“But with math and science sometimes, I’ve had a hard time understanding,” Shelby continued. “Calculus does not come easy, but I just wanted to try it. Just to say that I did it.”
And it’s been anything but easy.
“My third quarter grade was almost a B,” she said. “I was starting to get really nervous. I’ve had to do a lot of extra credit and study a lot.”
Shelby, who also has loaded her classwork with college courses this year, plans to attend Pittsburg State University in the fall, where brothers Tyler and Kyle attended in the past.
“That was part of the reason,” she said. “I also have been to a lot of jazz competitions when I was in a jazz band in high school, and it was a lot of fun. I like the campus and the university.”
She plans to study social work, “but I’m not 100% set on it,” she said.
THE LOADED schedule, plus her extra-curricular activities, makes for a long and busy year, Shelby admitted.
Practically from her first day as a freshman, Shelby has been involved in plenty. She played tennis in the fall, basketball in the winter and softball in the spring, plus she has been involved in the fall IHS play, and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Students Against Destructive Decisions, the National Honor Society and IHS Players.
Oh, and don’t forget her college classes.
“It can be tough,” she said. “It’s been a really long year, and I’m not the best at time management. I’m a bit of a procrastinator. This year has had a lot of late nights.
“I’m excited, but a little sad it’s ending,” she continued. “It’s like the end of this part of my life.”
Shelby has bonded with several of her classmates, in particular her teammates in whichever sport is in season.
She also had the opportunity to play doubles tennis with Sidney her junior year.
