The Scotts Valley High School Class of 2021, which spent the past 14 months learning in a worldwide pandemic, will graduate with their well-deserved diplomas with an in-person ceremony at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, on the football field.
From left: Logan Heine, Anvi Penmetsa, and Sophia Olender on campus. • Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
The day before that, this year’s seniors will enjoy a class picnic and then a senior breakfast on graduation morning.
The Scotts Valley Times is pleased to recognize the 2021 valedictorian and the two salutatorians for their hard work that put them at the top of their class. Here they share their post-graduation plans.
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Valedictorian
Logan Heine
Future plans: Go to the Cabrillo Honors program to figure out my exact major (something along the lines of creative writing), followed by transfer to a four-year college to complete a bachelor’s degree.
Activities: Learning piano, tutoring others in math, playing video games, reading, writing and drawing.
What I enjoyed most about high school: My art classes (including graphic design) and TOK (Theory of Knowledge).
Parents: Thor and Monica Heine
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Salutatorians
Anvi Penmetsa
Future plans: I am going to major in computer science at UCLA. I hope to pursue a career in video game development.
Activities: Playing the flute and creating digital artwork. At school, I am a part of Key Club, Math Club, Maji Project Club, CSF, and Humanities Club.
What I enjoyed most about high school: I love working together with my classmates and participating in group discussions where we get to share our unique opinions and develop new ideas.
Parents: Ajay Penmetsa, Jaya Penmetsa
Sophia Olender
Future plans: I am majoring in biology at UCLA and plan on going to medical school afterwards. Currently I’m interested in anesthesiology, but that might change.
Activities: I’ve played on the girls’ varsity basketball team at SVHS for the past four years. I also play on a club basketball team in San Jose throughout the summer. I am the principal cellist of the Santa Cruz Youth Symphony. Sometimes I play in trios and quartets with other members of the symphony.
What I enjoyed most about high school: One of my most favorite memories is driving down to a tournament in Santa Barbara with the girls’ basketball team. We had a lot of fun spending time with each other and developing better bonds as teammates.
Parents: Debora Wu and Sean Olender