For Dalton Harvat, graduating No. 1 in the Liberty High School Class of 2014 is an accomplishment, but it was one step in reaching a goal.
Heading into high school, Harvat wasn’t the straight A type of student. He didn’t get A’s every year and started out his freshman year at Liberty with a B. However, by taking several Advanced Placement (AP) classes, Harvat eventually raised his grade point average to a 4.26 and will graduate at the top of his class today during Liberty’s commencement ceremonies. He beat out No. 2 Juliet Olsen by .01 points.
“My goal was to get into a good college,” he said. “The best way I thought to do that was to get good grades. There were a bunch of kids that got good grades and I was one of the top kids, but not the top kid in middle school.”
Harvat will attend University of California at Davis and major in mechanical engineering. He wants to design big diesel engines for big rigs or yachts. He received the school’s Blue and Gold opportunity scholarship, which will pay for tuition, books and transportation for his first year and can be renewed after...