Members of Bearden’s academically accomplished Class of 2025 have taken a variety of different paths to success.
But valedictorian Kendall Hubbs and salutatorian Grace Page are linked in their shared passion for law.
Their interest in law began early freshman year when they both joined Model UN. Both of them enjoy arguing, and Model UN allowed them to argue while learning about global and political issues.
Page’s interest in law fully deepened in Mr. Logan Peterson’s sophomore AP government class.
“I really enjoyed learning about the Supreme Court cases and seeing how that actually impacts people in their day-to-day lives,” Page said.
Since sophomore year, Page has continued to use her interest in law to help her in the classroom. In AP Seminar, all of her research projects connected to law and politics, and in AP Research, Page has focused her year-long research project on discussing the 17th Amendment.
“My only goal for high school was to do my very best,” she said.
Hubbs took her law interest to the next level sophomore year when she revived Bearden’s Mock Trial club.
Over her years at Bearden, she also participated in Governor’s School, and played varsity softball.
“Don’t be discouraged by standardized testing or grades,” Hubbs said. “In those failures, you can still make the top ten and be academically competitive.”
Both students credit Latin for helping them with their interest in law.
“The structure of Latin is very complex, and leads you to learn to read with context, which can be lost due to social media,” Bearden Latin teacher Mr. Sandy Hughes said.
Added Page: “Law has to do with a lot of correlation, and Latin has helped me to not only think critically about who I’m talking to, but word power and language.”
Both Hubbs and Page made a lasting impression on Mr. Hughes.
“One thing that sets them apart from other students I have had in the last few years is they really think about the outside world and how to make the world a better place,” he said. “Kendall is like a force of nature, she decides what she is going to do and then she does it in 5 minutes.
“Grace is really good at figuring out how to unconfuse herself, which is a very valuable skill to have in our modern world.”
Hubbs and Page will both speak at graduation on May 15 at 8 p.m.
“I think they are both going to change the world, and I am deeply honored to have been their teacher,” Mr. Hughes said.