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Tomah High School’s top Class of 2008 students took similar paths on their way to Valedictorian and Salutatorian honors.

Both were involved at Tomah High School outside of the classroom, both were members of the National Honor Society, and both began high school four years ago thinking they could one day be at the top of the class.

“I knew that freshman year would count,” Valedictorian Melissa Moravec said. “I worked hard from the beginning. I was kind of shooting for it (Valedictorian).”

Moravec and Salutatorian Saied Sanjari will also be taking similar paths after graduation. Both will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall.

Moravec, the daughter of Brian Moravec and Carla Brockhaus, plans to study legal studies before attending law school at Madison. She hopes to one day become a lawyer.

“I have seen a lot of bad lawyers,” Moravec said. “I want to be a good lawyer.”

Moravec kept herself busy in high school, participating in basketball and track and field for four years. She also had stints on the volleyball and cross country teams. She was a Mississippi Valley Conference Second-Team All-Conference selection this past winter in basketball, and she qualified for the WIAA Division 1 Sectional Track Meet, which will be held today (Thursday) in the long jump, and as a member of the 100 meter and 200 meter relay teams.

“I play sports pretty much every night,” Moravec said.

When Sanjari, the son of Farshad and Kelly, goes to Madison this fall, he plans to study chemistry. He said that he eventually wants to go into medicine and is planning to be a doctor, although he won’t rule out changing his emphasis to pharmacuticals. He credits his mother with being his influence to study medicine.

“My mom is a nurse practitioner,” Sanjari said. “She has been a huge inspiration to me.”

Sanjari was also a four-year member of the tennis team, and he plays trumpet in the band. He was the drum major his senior year, and he said that being in the band was a major part of his experience at Tomah High School.

“Band was a big part of my career here,” Sanjari said. “I did a lot with it.”

Graduation will take place on Friday, June 6, at 8 p.m. The class of nearly 275 students will graduate at the high school football field, if weather permits. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved to the gymnasium.