The Fort Lauderdale High School Class of 2025 thrives in academics and sports. Out of the thirteen first ranked seniors, nine are student athletes. Not only do they succeed academically, they are also the best in their sports. 

Athletic Director Timothy Lawrence acknowledged how impressive this particular group of students is.  

“It is truly a joy to be the athletic director here at Fort Lauderdale High School, knowing that I have the best academic kids here,” said Lawrence.  “We are the envy of a lot of schools in the country. [Colleges] are looking at the GPA because our top five are all athletes and they all have [higher weighted GPA]  than a 5.5. It is just what we do here. It is a Fort Lauderdale culture thing.”

Achieving this level of success requires dedication and good time management.  

Valedictorian and volleyball player Kristztina Tolotti and Salutatorian and softball player Tanner Keenan shared their experiences.

“The biggest part that helped me balance everything was keeping to a schedule,” explained Tolotti.  “In school I would get as much homework done as possible so I didn’t have to worry about it during practice. That also motivated me to be more efficient. Funnily enough, I learned that things tend to take as long as I have time to do them. I wouldn’t necessarily have more time if I didn’t do sports or work, I would probably just fill that time taking longer to do other things.” 

Keenan shared how her success required balancing academics and sports. 

“I am not quite sure how I balanced it all. If I was not at school, I was at practice. If I wasn’t at practice, I was at the gym. In between both, I had to prioritize late night studying. This type of schedule was just my normal. Some would consider it ‘overwhelming’ or ‘exhausting’, but I wouldn’t change a thing,” commented Keenan.   

Most of the student athletes have decided where they will pursue their higher education and are attending top tier universities such as  MIT, University of Florida, and University of Pennsylvania and are divided in regards to continuing their sports at the college level. 

Volleyball player Tolotti and baseball player Cole Phillips plan to participate at a different level.  

“I will be going to MIT and will continue to play sports. I really enjoy the release I get after school and it’s a great way to spend time with friends,” Tolotti shared. “Since MIT doesn’t have a beach volleyball team, I will probably broaden my horizons in college and try something new.”

They show that it is possible to love sports without wanting to be in D1.

“I have decided on UF, but they’re a top ranked baseball team in the country so if I continue to play it will probably be in rec sports,” shared Phillips. 

One of the advantages of being a student athlete is the development of really important skills like discipline and Phillips learned it early: 

“The most important thing I learned is how to put my head down and fight through being tired or sore or unfocused.”, he said. “If I didn’t, either my grades would drop or I’d probably be cut from the team, and I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

FLHS is proud of its student athletes and applauds their accomplishments and the hard work they put in every day. Tanner Keenan summarized the point of going above and beyond.

“I learned that if you dig deep enough you will find something in yourself to give 110% effort. Why do something 50%? You are not only wasting your time but getting beat by others in the process.”