The average GPA for a high school student is a 3.0.
Senior Reily Miller ended the 2023 fall semester with an impressive 4.4 GPA. Most people would think “wow” and applaud Miller’s hard work. For Miller, whose freshman year GPA landed at a 2.7, the precious 4.4 has a long journey behind it. She had a lot to balance while recovering her academics from freshman year.
“I was hanging out with people who weren’t focused on their future and were not the best influence on me,” Miller said. “I also did not think that anything I was doing my freshman year would have an impact on my life.”
Many freshmen believe what Miller did: they will just turn their grades around sophomore year, but they never do. Miller was on this path until one teacher stepped in, playing a central role in Miller’s life: former science teacher Lindsay Scott.
“Ms. Scott sat me down next to a student who was a junior in my freshman year science class, and she told me every day that I was more than capable enough to help this junior,” Miller said. “In realizing that I could help out this junior, I realized that I was capable of doing well, not just in science, but in school.”
This realization led Miller to spend more time studying, taking notes and doing homework thoroughly. Her hard work resulted in a semester GPA the fall of her senior year of a 4.4. She also began to look toward her future after high school and has decided to major in speech pathology. One day she wants to work with special needs kids.
What really hurts Miller is that even after all her hard work, her cumulative GPA is a 3.6 because of her low freshman year GPA.
“At the beginning of the school year, I was angry at how much my freshman year GPA prevented me from applying for certain scholarships,” Miller said.
However, Miller’s experience does have an upside: it has allowed her to understand and empathize with those who struggle at school.
“One thing I love about Reily is that she’s willing to help others who are struggling because she gets it,” English teacher Amber Sims said. “She has truly been in their shoes.”
Miller has come out of her academic slump and now works to help others. Whether singing in the hallway, smiling in the lunchroom, or helping someone on a math problem in the classroom, Miller radiates positivity.
When asked to describe her in 3 words, Miller’s best friend, senior Colin McMahon, says “Kind. Funny…and confident. Definitely confident.” McMahon has been friends with Reily for more than four years, and is one of the only friends from freshman year who she is still close to.
Other students see Miller as a role model, however Miller does not think herself to be all that exceptional. When I asked to interview her, she laughed and looked confused.
“What’s so special about me?” she asked. Her ability to improve and persevere, as well as her magnetic personality and positive energy, regardless of the hurdles she is facing, make her special.
In the words of Miller, “Honestly, I am so proud of how far I’ve come that it doesn’t really matter to me that I wasn’t always the smartest. I think the fact that I’ve been able to work really hard says more about me, than if I had a perfect GPA.”
