Icardo, Young named CFHS valedictorian, salutatorian

Clark Fork — When Clark Fork Junior/Senior High officials announced Max Icardo as valedictorian and Nona Young as salutatorian, Young said she had to double check.

"The third, fourth and fifth students are right there, right behind me (in GPA), so when they announced it I was like, 'Are you sure?'" Young said.

Icardo said it is an achievement, and though he refuses to let being at the top of his class go to his head, he is proud to represent Clark Fork High School. But addressing classmates, their families and school staff is a whole other issue.

"I am terrified of speaking," he said, adding he has not really thought about what he is going to say. 

Icardo has a 3.973 GPA and, while staying at the top of his class academically, works at the Cenex gas station and is involved in sports such as track, cross country and, for the first time, took football this year as well. He also enjoys skiing.

"I just like being outdoors whenever possible," he said.

Young travels all the way from west of Dover to Clark Fork for school, yet she maintains the GPA to be her class salutatorian. She carries a 3.76, but said she is trying to bring it up to a 4.0 by the end of the semester. Young grew up in the Clark Fork area — she and Icardo have gone to school together mostly since kindergarten, except for a year when he went to a different elementary school. Her parents divorced while she was in middle school, her mom moved away and her dad remarried. Although it was extremely difficult on her and her dad because of transportation, they decided it was best for her to continue schooling in Clark Fork.

"It's awesome there because every teacher knows you," she said. "They know what your situation is and they will help you with any obstacles so you are not alone — it's huge."

Icardo said while he likes the small school at Clark Fork, he would have liked to try going to a larger school like Sandpoint High School, just to compare the two.

"I think we miss out on a lot of opportunities that large schools have, like better programs and lots of classes to explore stuff you like," he said.

Young not only travels for school and maintains her GPA, she is also in track, volleyball, basketball, enjoys writing, outdoor activities such as fishing and hiking, and is taking two college courses this semester. One college course is English 101, and the other is financial management 230. She said the 200-level class was intimidating at first, but she ended up enjoying it and is learning a lot.

When she graduates from high school, Young will have most of her first college semester complete with 12 credits. The financial management class is in line with what she plans to major in, which is hospitality management.

"I think it would be a lot of fun to manage your own cruise ship out on the ocean, so that’s my big dream,” she said. "But when I get out of college I would hope to work at a hotel or resort somewhere, managing it."

Also, through Clark Fork's independent learning track, she job-shadowed at the Clark Fork Lodge last semester, and this semester she is working at the Pend Oreille Shores Resort. She said she "absolutely loves" working at the resort, as she moves from department to department, learning about each. The Clark Fork Lodge offered her a job for the summer, and the resort is talking about giving her one as well, she said.

Icardo will head to the University of Idaho in the fall to major in computer science. While he is not committed to that major, he said he has always been interested in technology.

"I also see that as a career that would be pretty pertinent in the future with a lot of jobs available," he said.

He also took independent track and tried to get into either Quest Aircraft Company or Kochava, but neither were able to offer him a position at the time. He also participated in the outdoor track, which, as a lover of the outdoors, he enjoyed quite a bit. He will also have a good jump on his first semester in college, graduating high school with nine college credits. He said he took some of his prerequisites, one of which was high-level math class to get that out of the way and hopefully start on some of his computer science courses.

Icardo and Young are both humble about their academic achievements. As Icardo stated, he was not going to let his being named valedictorian go to his head, and Young said she wasn't "shooting for the stars." She just did her best in school and is excited to be the class salutatorian, she said.

"I think it's awesome because it shows other students they can overcome their obstacles and become whatever they desire to be," Young said.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.