Kristian Day worked hard since middle school to become the East Marion High School valedictorian and STAR Student for 2023 and is grateful for the competition he had as well as for those who pushed him to be his best, including his sister, Kristianna Day, who was the East Marion valedictorian and STAR Student two years ago.
"I'm happy about it. I'm really proud of myself for getting to the point I've made it to in my life," he said. "I'm glad I had the competition I did. That would be Gracie (Sanders). It pushed me to get where I am and to become the valedictorian. I'm thankful for the teachers who have helped me get here, as well as my family."
Day attended Nora Davis Magnet School until sixth grade when he moved to East Marion, where he ended up with a 4.0 GPA and a 4.32 QPA.
He took the ACT five times and went from a 24 to a 30.
"Each time I took it, I went up one or two points," he said. "I took a couple of practice tests in subjects that I tried to pull up my score in."
He brought his score up to where he was STAR Student and chose Sarah Holder as his STAR Teacher.
"She's one of the most engaging and helpful teachers I've ever had," he said. "She always pushes you to do your best no matter what. She would give me higher-level work to challenge me. She does a lot for many students. Not many people realize that."
Holder said Kristian is a great student.
"I've taught him since 10th grade but not this year," Holder said. "He was in chemistry in 10th grade, which is unusual. Most 10th graders don't take chemistry. He was so advanced. I was giving him supplemental AP level work, and he did well with that work. That whole class was advanced and were in the second round taking the ACT so I began doing ACT work with them. I knew Kristian would do above 30, which was his final score. He required a challenge. He's just a great kid. He's humble and sweet. He's one of those kids that always makes a point to say hello."
His favorite subject has been chemistry, and he really enjoyed human anatomy and physiology. He didn't care for general music, except for playing the recorder, which he enjoyed. He also did not like his government or economics classes.
He plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi and major in computer science with a minor in business. After college, he plans to get an LLC and start a computer repair company or teach computer courses. He has taken education prep and digital media courses at the Marion County vo-tech center.
Day enjoys spending time working with technology and devices. He likes to build computers and software. He enjoys sports for fun and works a part-time job. Tennis was his favorite sport in school. He likes playing games and loves reading informational articles. He made information cards for the memorial service for Vietnam Veterans.
He is the son of Carl Michael Day and Mihaela Day. His siblings are Kristianna, Mykhael Nechifor, Willow Nechifor and Beau Bingham. He also has three cats and two dogs. He is the grandson of Stan Hauer.
"As a parent, I am so proud of Kristian for staying focused and consistently working to do his best," his father, Michael Day, said. "He has had to overcome quite a lot of challenges starting even back in kindergarten. I am grateful to God and so many support people who have helped him along the way. I have taught him to be humble and to respect others. I pray he stays grounded but never stops growing into a man that will keep God first and always remembers the gift of serving others."
Kristian is grateful for his father and sister.
"I want to thank my dad and sister for everything they've done for me to push me to do my best all these years and for loving me unconditionally," he said.
He has a variety of pieces of advice for younger students.
"Start working hard early. As soon as you get into middle school, grades start counting. I almost messed up my QPA," he said. "Start taking AP classes and dual-enrollment classes early. Don't procrastinate. Take pride in your school because it's hard to do something you don't enjoy. Do good for others, and good will come back to you. Cherish high school while you can. Before you know it, it's over and that's the most painful thing, the thing I regret most right now."
