Clinton County High School will graduate the Class of 2011 this Friday night, May 27.

Among those who will walk across the stage and receive their diplomas, three graduates will close out their high school years as the top three students academically.

Brandon Shepherd, son of Sherri Shepherd and Steven Shepherd, has been named as this year’s Valedictorian with the top grade point average in the senior class.

Salutation for the Class of 2011 is Danielle Brown. She is the daughter of Roger and Claris Brown.

Rounding out the top three is Odessa Gross. She was named Historian for the Class of 2011.

Traditionally, the Historian has been an elected officer, but in recent years the position of Historian has been awarded to the student with the third highest GPA among the graduating class.

Gross is the daughter of Patricia and Tex Rains.

All three of the top GPA holders were informed of their accomplishment on Friday as Principal Sheldon Harlan prepared them for graduation. He told each of them they will have to prepare a speech for the graduation ceremony.

After four years of high school, Shepherd, Brown and Gross are anxious to begin the next chapter of their lives. All three are excited about their next journey.

“I’m very excited,” Shepherd said. “I’ve worked really hard and I’m glad it paid off. My mom always told me to do my best, so this is what I was shooting for.”

“It’s very rewarding to know that high school wasn’t for nothing,” Brown said. “That the work actually did become something. I always tried my best in school, but I guess I didn’t realize until my sophomore year of school.”

After the summer break, all three students are planning to attend college. Shepherd is planning on attending the University of Kentucky, Brown plans to continue her education at Western Kentucky University and Gross has plans to enroll at Somerset and then transfer to UK.

“I’m going to try and become a nurse practitioner. I like to help people and I feel like I would be good at taking care of people. I think it’s a really good school. I think it will be a lot different than high school,” Gross said.

Shepherd said his favorite subject in school is math and wants his career to follow along that subject.

“I want to do computer engineering,” Shepherd said. “It’s very math orientated.”

“I’m going to Western and I plan on majoring in Political Science,” Brown said.

Being at the top of your class can’t come without some sacrifice. Brown and Shepherd said they had to sacrifice a lot, but it was worth it.

“There was a lot of sacrifice,” Shepherd said. “Putting school first in most cases … not going to friend’s houses … staying up late, especially when you put things off.”

“I sacrificed some, but I also made it a point to do something outside of school, like tennis and band, in order to keep from getting fed up with it,” Brown said. “During tennis season, we stay out to eight or nine o’clock and I would have homework until class came the next day.”

Being at the top of the class was a goal for some, others it was a surprise.

“It’s kind of surprising,” Gross said. “It really wasn’t a goal, but I always tried my hardest. There are a lot of distractions, especially when you’re a teenager.”

Gross said she prefers Science above other subjects. “I like science. I think it’s interesting. Some of it there is not a process you have to learn like math,” Gross said.

Brown said she realized she was in the top of her class as a sophomore.

“I started trying harder, not to say I wasn’t trying hard to begin with, but I was more goal oriented rather than just doing the work,” Brown said.

Being in the top three of a graduating class doesn’t mean every second of every day is dedicated to school. All three agree that you have to have something to take your mind off school every now and then.

“I take karate and I used to take guitar lessons,” Shepherd said.

“I think it actually helps with getting focused for school, because you’re not actually working all the time. You are doing something to give your mind a break,” Brown said. “It relieves some stress,” Shepherd added.

Now, the final week of high school, Shepherd, Brown and Gross are sad that their time is up and there are some things they will miss, but all are excited about moving on.

“I’m a little nervous … being away from home,” Shepherd said “I’m really excited,” Brown added.

“Definitely seeing our friends so much,” Shepherd said. “I get a chance to room with one of my best friends in college.”

Brown and Gross said not seeing the people in their lives will be hard on them.

“We’ve seen the same people for the past four years, now we are going to meet people we don’t know,” Brown said. “It intimidates me a little, but not a lot.”

The sense of being done with high school gave all three students a smile, and they offered some advice to incoming freshmen.

“Stay focused and try as hard as they can now because it will definitely make a difference later,” Shepherd said.

“It doesn’t matter so much that your friends think you are cool, academics should come first,” Brown said.

“I would tell them not to take their time for granted and not wish their time away,” Gross said. “Do as much as you can. It definitely has (gone by quick). I can’t believe it. I would try to socialize a lot more with people.”

While some students will enroll in college early, others are glad to have a break before starting school in the fall.

“I’m glad to get a break,” Brown said.

“I’m going to take a summer class, so I don’t have to take it at UK,” Shepherd said.

Commencement ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, May 27, 2011, at 7 p.m. at Clinton County High School.