High schools from throughout the Houston County School District have announced their valedictorian and salutatorian for the Class of 2023. The top graduates are:

• Houston County High - Valedictorian Seojin Choi and Salutatorian Hannah Koppel

• Northside High - Valedictorian Carson Sams and Salutatorian Megan D’Angelo

• Perry High - Valedictorian Claire Elizabeth McDonald and Salutatorian Ava Slaughter

• Veterans High - Valedictorian Caroline Olivia Maxwell and Salutatorian Madison Elizabeth Bunnell

• Warner Robins High - Valedictorian Daiven Abram and Salutatorian Callie Wilson

Photographs and brief biographies for each valedictorian and salutatorian are shown below.

 Houston County High Valedictorian, Soejin Choi

 Seojin Choi is an active member of various organizations such as Student Council, Beta Club, National Honors Society, and marching band. She currently serves as the Beta Club Vice President and the Drum Captain in the Black and Silver Brigade. She has previously served as Student Council Secretary and Class of 2023 Junior Class Vice President. At the FCCLA State Leadership Conference, she won gold in the Chapter Service Display Project category, and at the Georgia State Beta Convention, she earned the title of national qualifier for Jewelry Making. Seojin served as a member of the President School for the annual Georgia Association of Student Council State Conference her freshman and junior year where she learned to hone her leadership skills and break out of her comfort zone. Seojin plans to further her education at Vanderbilt University where she plans to pursue Biomedical Engineering. Her parents are Wonki Choi and Jiwon Choi, and she has a younger brother, Steve Choi. 

Houston County High Salutatorian, Hannah Koppel

Hannah Koppel currently serves as a District Two Representative for the Georgia Association of Student Councils, Beta Club president, FCCLA vice president of community service, and percussion captain for the Black and Silver Brigade. She is also a member of the National Honors Society, National Technical Honors Society, Debate, and the Houston County Wind Symphony. Extracurricular awards include national first place in nutrition skill demonstration for FCCLA, state second place in biomedical science knowledge for National Beta, Awards of Merit, honors, and excellence in debate, and placement in all-honor and all-region bands for percussion. Other accolades include being a Governor's Honors Program finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, Georgia Certificate of Merit recipient, AP Environmental Science Award recipient, and Optimist Club Student of the Month for August. A service-oriented student, Hannah has enjoyed volunteering at the Houston County Humane Society and Central Baptist church while leading various school and community service initiatives over the past four years. Outside of the classroom, she has worked in her family's small business, Adventure Trails Market, and Peach Veterinary Clinic. She is a finalist for the Georgia Institute of Technology Stamps Scholarship, where she will be majoring in Biomedical Engineering on a pre-medicine track to become a pediatric neurologist. Hannah also hopes to run her own non-profit organization which raises affordable service animals. Her parents are Melissa and Charles Koppel, and her siblings are Cameron, Isaac, Tabitha, Sarah, Ezekiel, Caleb, and Lydia Koppel.

 Northside High Valedictorian, Carson Sams

 Carson Sams serves as the DECA president at Northside High School where she has participated in many competitive events such as Fashion Merchandising, Hotel and Lodging, and State Button Design, where she has placed both at region and state. She also serves as the Co-President of the BETA Club at NHS and has been a member all four years. Carson is currently the treasurer of the FCCLA chapter at Northside and has been a member for all four years. During her time in FCCLA, Carson has competed in multiple star events and is a two-time national gold medalist. She previously served as the Junior Class President and is a member of the Senior Exec. at Northside. Carson has been an FCA Leader all four years, is a member of the National Technical Honor Society, and was also selected as an Eagle Ambassador. Other awards Carson has received include AP Scholar with Honor, UGA Certificate of Merit, Top 5%, State Superintendent Recognition, and Optimist Student of the Month. She is also the Varsity Soccer Captain and was second-team all-region her sophomore year. Carson also was on the Varsity Volleyball Team and played on the first Flag Football team at Northside High School where she was the Quarterback. Carson also serves as an intern at Trinity United Methodist Church, is a member of the Kappa Alpha Zeta sorority, was a participant in the Robins Youth Leadership Program, and volunteers at Northside Elementary. Carson Sams is the daughter of David and Angie Sams and has an older brother, Connor Sams. She plans to attend the University of Georgia in the fall, majoring in Management Information Systems.

Northside High Salutatorian, Megan D’Angelo

Megan D’Angelo served as the head drum major of the Blue Wind Marching Band her junior and senior years. She was a flute section leader and band captain her sophomore year. Megan is also in the concert band and has participated in the GMEA District 11 Honor Band all four years of high school. Her awards in band include Rookie of the Year (freshman) and Most Outstanding Student (sophomore and junior). She has been involved in many school clubs, including Beta Club, SkillsUSA, Senior Executive Committee, Junior Optimist International Club and the Aquila Yearbook Staff. Megan has played on the varsity tennis team for three years. Her academic awards include Top 5% for four years, All A Honor Roll for four years, Georgia Certificate of Merit and National Society of High School Scholars. Megan is an AP Scholar with Distinction, earning a score of five on three AP exams: AP Language Arts and Composition, AP Psychology, and AP Statistics. She was the Optimist Student of the Month for February 2023. Megan was a nominee for the Governor’s Honors Program in Communicative Arts in her junior year and has been nominated for the 2023 Golden Eagle program and scholarship in the category of citizenship. She was also named a 2023 Georgia Scholar. Megan enjoys tutoring 9^thgrade math students and volunteering with local elementary schools. She also volunteers weekly at Harvest Church as a Kidstown leader. This past year, she began volunteering monthly at Puzzle Pieces Intervention Center to work with special needs children. Megan has committed to the University of Georgia and plans to major in Psychology with a focus on child development. Her career aspirations are to diagnose and treat children with neurological disorders. Megan is the daughter of Vince and Rachel D’Angelo and is the older sister of Macy D’Angelo.

Perry High Valedictorian, Claire Elizabeth McDonald

Claire Elizabeth McDonald is the daughter of Alicia and Bryan McDonald. Claire has been nominated for the Governor’s Honors Program in Mathematics and the Golden Eagle Award in Mathematics.  She is recognized as an Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction and a recipient of the University of Georgia Certificate of Merit. Claire has maintained a 4.0 GPA while enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) Biology, AP Statistics, AP Language and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP Literature and Composition, AP Calculus, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Chemistry. She is a four-year member of the PHS Varsity Swim Team, where she has been recognized as most valuable player three years in a row. She won first place in the 200 Individual Medley at the 2023 County Championships. Claire also volunteers in her community as a member of Kappa Alpha Zeta Sorority, a member of Houston Church, and as Treasurer of the National Honors Society. Claire plans to attend the University of Georgia and pursue a career in Environmental Engineering.

Perry High Salutatorian, Ava Slaughter

Ava Rose Slaughter is the daughter of Amanda and Michael Slaughter. Ava is the recipient of the University of Georgia Certificate of Merit. As a member of the National Honors Society, Ava has served the community through volunteering at elementary schools, as well as the local volleyball club, Prostyle Volleyball Association. She is a member of the Future Farmers of America, where she has competed in the Floriculture CDE for four years. In 2023, Ava’s team won area and state competitions, which led to a bid to compete on a national level. Playing junior and varsity volleyball since 8^th grade, Ava has been recognized as an all-region player and MVP. Ava has been a member of the PHS soccer team for four years as a manager, and the wrestling team for two years as a manager. She has maintained a 4.0 grade point average while taking AP Environmental Science, AP Stats, AP Macroeconomics, AP Chemistry, and Honors Precalculus. Ava plans to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology to pursue a degree in Environmental Science.

Veterans High Valedictorian, Caroline Olivia Maxwell

Caroline Maxwell is an AP scholar who has received a 5 on all seven of the AP exams she has taken over the course of high school, including World History, Statistics, Environmental Science, Psychology, Chemistry, US History, and English Language. She was a Governors Honors Program (GHP) semifinalist in Communicative Arts, and she has been recognized for a variety of other school-level academic awards as well as the UGA Certificate of Merit. Caroline is a member of several VHS organizations, including Mu Alpha Theta, Beta Club, Science National Honor Society, and Chick-fil-A Leader Academy. She also serves as the Vice President of Rho Kappa Honor Society, a captain for Science Olympiad, and a two-year collaborator for the Warhawk Workshop. Additionally, Caroline has participated in the VHS choir all four years of high school; she currently serves as the Chorus Librarian, and she has been chosen for All State Chorus in her freshman, junior, and senior years, and the All-State Reading Choir for two years. The daughter of Paula and Jason Maxwell, Caroline plans to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology to major in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Veterans High Salutatorian, Madison Elizabeth Bunnell

Madison Bunnell is an AP 5 scholar who has been recognized with a UGA Certificate of Merit, the President’s Honor Roll, and a variety of other school level academic awards. Madison is a four-year starter for the VHS varsity softball team, and she was named Region Pitcher of the Year for the past two years. She is a member of several school organizations, including the Beta Club, the Spanish Honor Society, the Red Cross Club, and Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy. Madison is a lead collaborator for the Warhawk Workshop, teaching her fellow students how best to work with their peers. Madison enjoys volunteering to serve her community in her free time. Recently, she volunteered at the Greek Festival in Macon and the Miss Sweetheart Pageant at Veterans High. The daughter of Nora and Kris Gibson and Nick and Elizabeth Bunnell, Madison plans to attend the University of Georgia, majoring in Biology with intentions of one day becoming a pediatrician.

Warner Robins High Valedictorian, Daiven Abram

Daiven Abram is the son of Adrian and Erica Abram. During his high school career, Daiven has taken 16 AP classes and is an AP Scholar with Distinction, having passed all of his exams with 5’s in AP English Language and Composition, AP Psychology, and AP BC Calculus. Daiven is currently dual enrolled in the distance math program at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Daiven was named a semi-finalist in the Governor’s Honor Program for mathematics and a recipient of the Georgia Certificate of Merit. He has also been the Optimist Student of the Month and a Golden Eagle nominee for Math. Daiven's outstanding academic performance has earned him recognition as the 2023 Warner Robins High School Star Student and a 2023 Georgia Scholar.

In addition to his academic achievements, Daiven is an active member of the WRHS technical theatre program, where he has been involved since his freshman year. As part of Troupe 1802, Daiven has run sound for the 5A One-Act competitions and has helped the team place in the top three in state for the last four years, winning first place in state in 2020 and 2021. Daiven has also served as the captain of the Speech and Debate Team for two years and helped co-found the Ethics Bowl Team, which went undefeated in their first competition. Outside of these activities, Daiven is the head of the Lego Club, scribe for the Quiz Bowl Team, and has volunteered with the Beta Club.

Daiven has been selected for the 2023 Robins Air Force Base Software Engineering Group’s paid summer internship. Daiven will continue his academic journey at Georgia Tech, where he plans to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering.