Granite Bay High School senior Allen Ding has taken 11 Advanced Placement in his four years at GBHS.

Rounding out at a 4.45 total weighted grade point average, Ding is one of three valedictorians for the class of 2009.

Joining him are Amy Williams with a 4.44 total weighted GPA, and Lisa Wang with a 4.40 total weighted GPA.

This year, GBHS also selected three salutatorians – Victoria Cho, Alex Smith and Lee Tilford.

All six students will be speaking at the graduation ceremony this Saturday.

According to math teacher Greg Holmes, the senior class had many qualified students.

“They were so close,” Holmes said.

A faculty committee consisting of Holmes, history teacher Karl Grubaugh and assistant principal Cathy Raycraft made the final decision to select six to speak at the ceremony.

Because Ding, Wang and Williams all had GPAs within hundredths of each other, the committee chose three valedictorians. Likewise, according to Holmes, the salutatorians’ GPAs were all extremely close, making it difficult for the committee to choose just one.

“We were looking for a natural break (in the GPAs),” Holmes said.

For Wang, being chosen as one of the valedictorians was the icing on the cake and a great reward for her hard work.

“Coming into high school, I never planned to be valedictorian, or salutatorian,” Wang said. “I just worked my butt off and it really has been so rewarding.”

Williams, who had taken several AP courses along with band, has no regrets for taking the rigorous courses that she did.

“I really enjoyed the challenge of the classes that I took,” Williams said. “It was well worth it in the end.”

The average number of AP classes taken by the valedictorians and the salutatorians was 9 classes. In addition to AP classes, three took Sierra College courses, which were also taken into consideration.

“Obviously, we know that several Sierra College classes are easier than AP classes here,” Holmes said.

Another factor was Williams’ extra periods. Having band in the morning, Williams’ GPA included zero periods and needed to be recalculated without zero periods.

While the committee looks at several factors, at the end of the day, it comes down to GPA.

“It is based on GPA,” Holmes said. “The person with the highest GPA will become valedictorian and the person with the second highest will become salutatorian.”

And for six seniors, these honors couldn’t be any more exciting.

“You know, you do all this hard work throughout high school to grow intellectually but mostly as a person,” Wang said. “You work as hard as you can, you challenge yourself and in the end when you get recognized for everything you have been working for, it does feel really great.”