Working steadily to improve their class standings paid off this spring as Segen Gilazgi and Victoria Bradley claimed the two top spots in the Class of 2018 at Wylie High School.

Gilazgi posted a 5.698 grade point average as valedictorian and Bradley was close behind with a 5.630 GPA as salutatorian.

The two lead a 500-member senior class that will take part in commencement exercises at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 26, at Allen Event Center.

The valedictorian is the daughter of Tegisty Gide and Efrem Gilazgi and started school in Wylie as a pre-kindergarten student at Dodd Elementary School.

As a sophomore student she reports being ranked third in the class and had pulled up to first by the end of junior year.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a natural. I put in a lot of hard work,” Gilazgi said.

The student also noted that she had a bit of extra motivation because her older sister, Saron, was valedictorian at WHS two years ago.

“I was pretty motivated,” the 2018 valedictorian said. “It was sort of like an expectation.”

Gilazgi has an important decision to make soon, choosing between Stanford University and Princeton University, both of which have accepted her as a student.

Joe Reavis • [email protected]

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