Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School is thrilled to announce the Class of 2023 valedictorian and salutatorian. Students were recognized In the Upper School Awards Ceremony held on Thursday, May 4, by Manning Weir, Upper School principal.
The Valedictorian is awarded to the senior with the highest GPA throughout his or her high school career. This year’s valedictorian is Hunter Newsome. Among his academic accomplishments, Hunter became part of the inaugural PEAK Capstone program this year to dive deeper into engineering by creating a drawing machine from scratch. He has completed 10 AP classes and three post-AP classes, many in STEM. Hunter will attend Duke University in the fall.
“Hunter has demonstrated extraordinary academic talents by taking the most rigorous course load available,” Mr. Weir said. “He is an excellent student, teacher, thinker, problem-solver and writer as well.”
He will give his valedictory address at the Class of 2023 Commencement on Sunday, May 14.
The Salutatorian Is awarded to the senior with the second highest GPA throughout his or her high school career. This year, the grades resulted in a tie. The 2023 Salutatorians are Parker Miles and Katherine Poch.
Katherine was a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship program and was the HIES S.T.A.R. student for earning the highest SAT score. She is a member of several honor societies and is a mentor in Girl Talk. She serves as president of the HIES Jewish Student Union and has played viola since she was in third grade. She will attend Georgia Tech.
Both Katherine and Parker were inducted into Cum Laude Society this year. Combined they have completed 22 AP or post-AP classes and 26 honors classes in the HIES Upper School.
Parker was selected as the 2022 Teen Volunteer of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals for his work with “Wheeling with the Bears,” a HIES club he launched that raises funds and awareness and helps provide inclusive opportunities for all athletes. In 2022, he was selected to participate in the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program to study math. He was a member of both the varsity cross country and varsity track teams. Parker will attend Duke University.
Katherine and Parker will give their salutatory address at the Class of 2023 Baccalaureate ceremony on Saturday, May 13.
