To anyone unfamiliar with Sofia Ascue, she may seem like an effortlessly intelligent and talented student — and to her friends and teachers, that’s not far from the truth. However, Ascue’s placement as the eighth-highest student in her class is also the result of countless hours of hard work.
“I fully expected her to get Top Ten just because of how dedicated and hardworking she is,” Thomas Hudson, senior, said. “She’s never gotten a B, studies for every test and stays up ‘til the sun rises just getting her homework done.”
Ascue’s brother, who graduated three years ago, placed 12th in his class. Sibling rivalry motivated Ascue to aspire for a Top Ten ranking.
“I made sure to take a lot of APs and Dual Enrollment classes so that I could have more credits that would add to my GPA,” Ascue said. “I was very happy because I thought I wouldn’t make it [into the Top Ten], since there’s like, a lot of other smart people in my grade, so I was kind of surprised.”
Ascue plans to major in environmental engineering at the University of Florida (UF). This goal led her to take many advanced STEM classes, such as AP Physics 1 and 2, and AP Calculus AB and BC.
“She would tell you that math is not her favorite, and she’s not, you know, passionate about it, but it’s like one of her strongest [subjects],” Saida Griesemer, AP Calculus teacher, said. “She thinks she’s not good at [things] … but she’ll just surprise you … and just be one of the best at it.”
Ascue selected Griesemer as her honor graduate sponsor after having her as a teacher over two years of calculus.
“I’ve had [Griesemer] for two years, and I think her teaching style is really, like, helpful, and I feel like she’s one of my most understanding teachers I’ve had in terms of, just, getting her students, and understanding workload and stuff,” Ascue said.
To achieve such a high ranking takes a great amount of effort, yet Ascue also devoted her time to various extracurricular organizations, such as the Asian Student Association as the president, the marching band as a drum major and flute player, Mu Alpha Theta, Beta Club and National Honor Society.
“[High school has] taught me definitely how to manage my time, because I’ve definitely had to balance school work, and social life and extracurriculars all together,” Ascue said. “Just making sure to not get overwhelmed by schoolwork and friends, and keeping, like, a balance of everything definitely helps you not to get too caught up in one thing.”
Ascue and Hudson grew close over their experiences as drum majors throughout the 2025 marching season. Throughout their time working together, Ascue made an impact on Hudson.
“Sofia seems like a really quiet and reserved person, but once you get to know her, you realize she is super kind, has a lot to say, and is a lot of fun,” Hudson said. “She’s super smart and she’s a very hard worker. She puts her all into everything she does and she completely deserves her ranking.”
Ascue’s placement in the Top Ten is the cherry on top of a successful high school career, and signifies that this chapter of her life is coming to a close. Though she is ready to move onto college, the change is bittersweet.
“I think [I’ll miss] my friends, because a lot of my friends are going to different colleges, so I might not see any of them,” Ascue said. “I’m looking forward to making new friends and seeing the community there [at UF] … [and] figuring out life [and] independence.”
As Ascue makes the transition, her friends believe her ambition will go with her and evolve throughout her college career.
“I would like her to accomplish anything that she ever puts her mind to, and I think that she will be able to just because she is so driven,” Hudson said. “She’s going to UF in the fall for environmental engineering, so maybe one day we will see her solving climate change.”
