Editor’s note: The Diocese of Palm Beach honors its Catholic high school graduates, particularly the valedictorians and salutatorians, with senior spotlights. In the second of three articles shining a light on excellence in Catholic education, the Florida Catholic spoke with the top seniors at John Carroll High School.
FORT PIERCE | Most high school students keep a pretty busy schedule. Between classroom time, homework, employment, sports, relationships and other responsibilities — not necessarily in that order of priority — sometimes it’s their academic achievements that take a hit.
Looking back, Will Ochoa and Capri Crespo, the two top graduates at John Carroll High School, say they found a successful balance while maintaining high standards in their schoolwork. Both were pleased to be named “summa cum laude” graduates and co-valedictorians by their Fort Pierce school.
“It’s definitely been a lot to balance for me,” said Crespo, the daughter of Robert Crespo and Junie Lopez. “I’ve been in a lot of clubs and stuff. I was the yearbook design editor this year. I’m student body president, and I’ve been in student government for three years.” Add to that her playing volleyball all four years and other activities.
“But you just have to have the work ethic and the hard work to be able to do it because it’s definitely possible to balance,” she said.
Ochoa added that, “Throughout high school, as the years went on, I kind of added more to see if I could do a little more,” encompassing his involvement with the Mu Alpha Theta math club, history club, National Honor Society, Beta club and other pursuits. Ochoa is proud of his high school accomplishments, “especially this year, because you want to just kind of checkout. But I stuck with it.”
Crespo said her greatest achievements involve being chosen to receive the Louis V. Gerstner Jr. and Marie Privuznak scholarships and being named summa cum laude at John Carroll. “My mom always says, ‘It’s not just in high school you worked on this. You worked for this your whole life.’ Setting the standard, for me, my hard work and everything.”
Both graduates are products of Catholic education in the primary grades: Ochoa at St. Mark School in Southwest Ranches (Broward County), and Crespo, who attended Osceola Magnet public school in elementary and St. Helen in middle grades, both in Vero Beach.
Catholic education “made all the difference,” said Ochoa, the son of William and Stephanie Ochoa. “If I wasn’t in Catholic education, I feel like my experience would have been a lot different. I’m really grateful that my parents had me go through Catholic education. The environment is a lot different when it’s more focused on faith.”
Crespo agreed, adding, “I see the way my friends at the public high schools grew up, and their experiences, and it’s just so different here. I really like the environment that’s created going to a Catholic school, and obviously it brings us closer to God as well.”
Their list of favorite teachers is extensive, including Mary Preston and Beth Murray (both for math), and Maria Boylan (religion). Science teacher Beau Roberts, whom Ochoa served as a teaching assistant, was given high marks by both top students, who had fun on a marine biology trip that Roberts led to the Florida Keys.
“I love his teaching style because it really prepares us for college, the way he lectures, but he also is funny,” Crespo said. “He has a sarcasm, and he really creates a personal relationship with all his students.”
Both are enrolling at the University of Florida in science-based majors, with Ochoa in computer science and Crespo in aerospace engineering. Looking back on more than 12 years of schooling, they better understand the value of time.
“If I were to tell something to my freshman self, I thought I had to have things figured out a lot sooner than I really had to,” Ochoa said. “So, I was kind of stressing over that for pretty much nothing. It was good to think about, but you don’t have to feel overwhelmed about it. It comes with time.”
“Live in the present,” Crespo advised. “People sometimes focus on the next step, maybe graduating or what’s up next, that they miss what’s happening in the moment. I would say just really focus on your time here and appreciate it because — it’s a cliché — it really does fly by so quickly.”
For more information on John Carroll High School, visit www.JohnCarrollHigh.com, call 772-464-5200 or visit pages on Facebook and Instagram.
