Valedictorian for South Central High School in Oyen is Treyson Girletz

Treyson Girletz has been named the 2024 valedictorian for South Central High School. Girletz started the year at Medicine Hat High School as he was playing on the U18 AA hockey team for the second year. However, he missed being at home and returned to Oyen in the beginning of November, commuting to Medicine Hat for practices twice a week along with travelling to wherever the team was playing games.

He has a lighter schedule this semester with only three classes, Math 31, Physics and Social Studies. “When hockey was on, it was tough to do homework, mostly physics, but I still got it done.”

He plays centre and while he hasn’t been keeping track of his points, he believed he’d averaged about one point per game during the season, which ended in March. “All I’m going to do for hockey next year is drive back to Oyen on the odd weekend to play for the senior team here. I was debating playing for the Cubs in the Hat, but I thought focusing on school would be a better option.”

“I have lots of friends there (Hat High), but I didn’t have classes with any of them, so it was mostly just talking with them at lunch or after school. Here, you know everybody, so you hang out with them at school and after school and get to know them a lot better in a small town.”

Having lived in Oyen his entire life, Girletz is aware of how big a change it will be next year when he starts attending university. While he feels the three-hour drive to Calgary is manageable, he’s also confident he’ll be able to stay in touch with his friends via social media and plans to enjoy his summer with them.

Throughout high school, his favourite subjects have been math and chemistry. “My whole life, math is the subject everybody has known me to be good at.” When he was in Grade 9, Girletz was already enrolled in Grade 11 math and when he finished that course, he took a break for a few years. He felt it came back easily enough when he took Math 30-1, although there were a few challenges and he was surprised at what he’d forgotten.

Girletz has two younger siblings, both sisters, one in Grade 7 and the other in Grade 9. His mother is a math teacher at South Central and one of her daughters is currently in her class. “She never taught me. She taught my whole class, but I was ahead of them. Dad works for Special Areas and also coached me in sports my whole life.”

Being valedictorian was always a goal for Girletz and he wasn’t surprised when he was told he’d earned the top academic spot. “It shows my hard work throughout the years. I’ve always made sure to keep my studies first even though I like to procrastinate sometimes. I’m the first valedictorian of my family on both sides and that means a lot.”

In September, Girletz will be pursuing a degree in software engineering at the University of Calgary and plans to live in residence.

By Samantha Johnson, Prairie Rose Public Schools Content Writer