Academy ISD seniors Newton Tran and Alex Hoffman will graduate at the top of their class at 4 p.m. today Saturday at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton.
Tran earned valedictorian honors with a 5.3 graduating grade-point average.
His accomplishments include being a National Merit Scholar, an Academy Band Booster Scholarship winner, an Academy Marching Band Front Ensemble captain, a TCA Ambassador Secretary, and an UIL Spelling and Vocabulary Team member — a collective where he earned the 2023 UIL spelling state co-champion award with and led as captain.
“Think and act for yourself, for only your own mind and self matter in your final hour,” Tran said he tells himself.
He hopes to see a full crowd in support of all of the Academy High School seniors.
“I invite you all to attend, and I appreciate everyone’s astronomical support,” Tran said.
Both Tran and Hoffman plan to continue their studies at the University of Texas at Austin this fall.
Tran, who plans to pursue a career as an English teacher, will major in English with a minor in educational psychology, while Hoffman will study business with a concentration on investment banking.
During his time at Academy High School, Hoffman — a National Honor Society member who had the top GPA in both math and science — played varsity baseball with whom he earned first team all-district baseball honors three times and THSCA Baseball Academic All-State first team honors once.
“I will never forget how much fun I have had playing high school baseball,” Hoffman said. “The long bus rides, late extra-inning wins, dogpiles and amazing times I have had with my teammates over the last four years have been some of my greatest memories. Thank you to my parents for supporting me through many long days of baseball and thank you to all of my coaches for helping me grow as a player and person.”
He earned salutatorian honors with a 5.2 graduating grade-point average.
“Although my time playing on the diamond has come to an end, baseball holds a special place in my heart and I will always remember how much I enjoyed playing the greatest game in the world,” Hoffman said.
