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The two seniors were awarded the title of valedictorian after they both maintained a GPA far over a 4.0.
“Ms. White sent a permission slip to my English class and it said come to the principal’s office immediately,” Buckstaff said. “Sam and I went in Ms. Neu’s office and Ms. White said, ‘okay you two, we have video footage of you at prom doing something inappropriate’ and we both started laughing because we knew they were joking and then they told us we were valedictorians.”
Toizer said he had no idea that we would be receiving the prestigious title, let alone with another person.
“I felt good about myself,” Toizer said. “I felt like all of the work I’ve been doing for the past four years has paid off. I’m glad they didn’t choose one of us if we were equal in the books. It’s nice to have somebody else to share it with.”
Buckstaff, who took six honors and six AP classes during her time at Redwood, only received two “B”s during her high school career, while Toizer, who took six honors classes and five AP classes, never earned below an “A” in any class.
“I think it’s really honorable recognition and something that I worked really hard for,” Buckstaff said. “It feels good to have that be acknowledged.”
Outside of school, Buckstaff competes on the Redwood and the San Francisco Yacht Club sailing teams and she plans to sail in college. Buckstaff volunteers at the Marine Mammal Center.
Toizer focused on his band Sir Francis Shake in which he plays the guitar and sings. He also got the opportunity to intern music producer, DJ Shadow. Along with attending Hebrew school, Toizer also became involved with the Environmental Action Club and helped get the sustainable Aus Pens into the math and science classrooms.
In the fall, Buckstaff will be attending Stanford University and Toizer will attend the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University.
