Starting out in college, the main goal of course is to finish and walk across the stage.  For some, as they proceed through school they see a chance to continue a team streak in the classroom.

The sailing team has set a high bar as far as in the classroom.  Over the last two years, a member of the team has been the valedictorian of the graduating class.  In 2019, Elisabeth Kuester had the top GPA in the class and Filip Stevanovic made it two in a row this spring.

Those two joined 2017 track athlete J'Niyah Knox-Wilson as valedictorians giving athletics three of the last four valedictorians honors in the graduating class.

"I wish to congratulate Filip Stevanovic on becoming the Valedictorian of the Class of 2020 and joining his former teammate Elisabeth Kuester as consecutive valedictorians from the Sailing team," said Hampton University President Dr. William R. Harvey.   "For the last two valedictorians to come from the same athletic team tells a strong story on the types of student-athletes that are attracted to Hampton University."

Hampton University Chancellor and Provost Dr. JoAnn Haysbert is very proud of the fact that three of the last four valedictorians came from athletic teams.  "It shows the strength of the partnership between athletics and academics that three of the last four valedictorians also were members of Hampton athletic teams," she said.  "For the last two top-ranked seniors to come from the same team, that is definitely a unique and special accomplishment."

For Stevanovic, as his senior year approached it became apparent that he had a shot.  "I'd say it was always more of a challenge than a goal to me, but the idea had definitely been in the back of my mind throughout my senior year," he said.  "Just last year, two of my teammates, Kuester and Luca Taglialegne, graduated as valedictorian and highest-ranked student-athlete, respectively. This gave me additional motivation as high academic achievement is already part of the team's legacy, he added."

The honor still had to sink in on Stevanovic once he was made aware last month.  "I was quite surprised at first. Of course, I was excited to hear about it but I also felt relieved. These past four years have been one challenging journey, but many have reached the finish line, and just graduating is already a success in itself," he said. "To be recognized this way, makes this milestone that much more special as this title feels like an ultimate testament to the four years of hard work and sacrifices"

Of course, once the pandemic set in and school shifted to online work, which gave its set of challenges.  "It was a challenging two months. Interacting with faculty and peers in-person plays a big role in what constitutes a college experience, so having to do classwork online was slightly lackluster. I did manage to persevere and in the end, all the effort seems to have paid off," he said."

Stevanovic followed the lead of his former teammate Kuester who took the honor in 2019.  She was extremely proud of her teammate who will follow in her lead for the Class of 2020.  

"Of course it was very good news to me. I think having two valedictorians in a row coming from the sailing team simply shows the high quality of the sailing program at Hampton," she said. "For coach Ambrosi, we were so much more than just athletes whose duty is to score well. Our performance in school and our values as people have always been extremely important to be able to be part of the team."

Coach Alesandro Ambrosi was extremely proud of both of his recent valedictorians.  " Filip Stevanovic is an outstanding skipper from Croatia and incredible student. During our many travel competitions I was very impressed about his knowledge of a lot of stuff. He is a brilliant guy with a deep sense of respect," he said. "Elisabeth Kuester was his crew in their boat and made a great team together able to sail in two straight nationals. For the program having two valedictorians is a great recruiting tool."