Henry Joiner, 12 , has a GPA of 4.523 and is the valedictorian for 2023 senior class. Joiner is a member of Beta Club, NHS, Rho Kappa and iLead. Joiner is also a member of the Varsity Lacrosse team. 

When asked how he felt after receiving the news that he was the valedictorian, Joiner said “it was a big relief because I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep the spot. So it was a relief that I was able to do it.” 

Joiner states what kept him motivated throughout high school to stay first of his class,  “I knew that I could do it,” he says “I wanted to prove myself, that I had the work ethic and effort to actually accomplish it.” 

The biggest challenge Joiner had throughout high school was balancing time. He goes on to say “with all my clubs, sports and school I had very limited free time so I had to value the free time that I did have. I had to space out my time accordingly so I could fit all my stuff in while also having a personal life outside of school.”

When asked how he felt about graduating, Joiner says “I’m excited. I’m going to UGA next year so I’m excited for that. Obviously, I’m sad to leave all my friends here but I’m excited to move on to a new thing.”  

Joiner is planning on majoring in Management information systems. He explains, “it’s in business but it’s the I.T side of business. So it combines computers and business.” 

Joiner recalls his favorite high school memory. He says that it was during sophomore year when they beat Buford lacrosse in triple overtime. 

Joiner states pieces of advice for upcoming seniors and freshmen. He says for seniors, “I would say don’t give up, it’s not over yet. You can still get a lot out of senior year. You can learn a lot and a lot of the skills that you’ve learned here can help you in college.” 

For freshmen he says “Balance your time because if you’re really into school that’s important but you also need to have a social life. You need to form relationships outside of school. On the other hand, if you don’t care about school it’s really important, it can take you places. So just find a balance between your personal life and your school life.”