Scholarships presented at Carson High School

As if Samantha Valerius' senior year at Carson High School wasn't busy enough with soccer, exams and a senior project, she had one other worry: scholarships.

Valerius, 18, received seven Thursday evening at Carson High School's annual scholarship award presentation. She estimates the total worth to exceed more than $3,000, but that doesn't include the Millennium Scholarship, she said, which is not announced until the end of the year. She'll be a recipient of that with her 4.0 grade point average.

"My initial reaction to getting my first scholarship was 'I'm so excited, all my hard work paid off,'" she said. "I applied for some 40 scholarships."

Valerius is a lifelong resident of Carson City, attending Fremont Elementary School and Eagle Valley Middle School. She is co-valedictorian of her senior class along with Sophia Raphael, who received six scholarships.

On June 10, 464 seniors are expected to graduate at Carson High. More than 70 were recognized as scholarship recipients.

"It's a pretty special ceremony," said Shari Mariani, an administrative assistant in the guidance office. "It's a nice recognition for the kids."

The number of recipients could increase when the Millennium awards, worth up to $10,000 to a state school, are announced.

Valerius has already been accepted into the University of Nevada, Reno, and listed her major as business administration, although she's not sure exactly what she wants to study.

While at Carson High School, she played soccer, a sport she started at age 4. She was a member of the National Honor Society the past three years and tutored students at Seeliger Elementary School.

She took advanced-placement classes in government, English and calculus her senior year.

With fewer than nine days of school left, Valerius has to write a co-valedictorian speech.

"Do everything you can to make high school the best experience possible," she said. "Now that I'm graduating I wish I had had time to enjoy it more. I was so busy doing school work I didn't have time to enjoy the other stuff."

She likes to run in her spare time, and made a quilt for her senior project. Her younger brother, Rob, is a sophomore at Carson High School.

"I'm a perfectionist and I have to do everything I can," she said. "If I see a scholarship I'm eligible for, I have to apply for that one. And my parents wanted me to apply for a bunch so I could afford college next year."

• Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.