NEW TAMPA — Somewhere between the early morning cross country practices, late-night study sessions and the hours spent fearlessly launching herself skyward on a fiberglass pole, Maggie Takamatsu quietly vaulted herself to the top of Freedom High’s Class of 2026.
On May 28, she will graduate as valedictorian.
But if you expect Takamatsu to treat that title as the defining achievement of her high school career, you’d be wrong.
“Being valedictorian, it’s an honor,” she says. “But I honestly think there are better ways you can represent your school.”
For her, that meant student government. It meant pushing herself through one of the toughest academic schedules she could put together. It meant competing at the state level in two sports. It meant trying to leave behind something that mattered.
An 8.64 GPA? That’s just part of the story.
But it is the beginning. At Terrace Community Middle School, many of Takamatsu’s classmates peeled off towards IB programs, magnet and private high schools. Takamatsu chose Freedom instead.
Not because it would be easier.
“I told my parents I wanted the typical high school experience with football games and all that,” she said. “And I remember my parents told me, ‘Well, you’ve got to make public school harder for yourself then.”
So she did.
Takamatsu created her own academic challenge ladder, basically. She set her sights on completing the AICE diploma, taking Cambridge courses that would strengthen her resume. She dove into a mix of AP and dual enrollment classes, taking as many as she could reasonably balance with playing sports. She took up pole vaulting, a sport that fit perfectly with the 11 years she had already spent as a competitive gymnast.
“It wasn’t about valedictorian,” she said. “It was about challenging myself.”
Her primary academic goal: nothing but A’s.
Through her first few semesters, that was no problem.
Then she laughs when she shares the tactical error sophomore year that nearly foiled her efforts.
“Pre-calculus, online, which was the worst idea possible,” said Takamatsu. “I thought, ‘Oh, we can cram a full-year course into one semester? Why don’t we try it? You’ve done it before.”
First test score: 66.
“I had never seen that in my life,” she said.
A month into the class, she had a tutor, and a little panic.
“I thought I was a lost cause.”
Instead, she clawed her way back — a 92 on her next test, and then two more A’s on the ensuing exams. She finished the class just a smidge over 90.
“It was very, very close,” she said.
It was Takamatsu’s competitive drive and desire to succeed that pulled her through.
That same drive helped her qualify for the state championships as a member of the school’s cross country team twice. As a pole vaulter, she advanced to regionals three times, and to state earlier this month.
During the season, she vaulted a career-best 10-feet, 6.25 inches, won her first district title, was third at regionals and 12th at state.
While the idea of fearlessly running at full speed down a track and sticking a fiberglass pole into a plant box and bending it so it snaps back and launches you into the air isn’t the safest sport, Takamatsu said it was certainly fun.
“My parents were not worried about it, because I did gymnastics for so long, I’ve been in much, much scarier situations there,” she said. “When I chose pole, my dad said, ‘You’re Eddie the Eagle.’ Because I choose some bizarre sports.”
She played golf for Freedom and threw the javelin. Flag football, soccer, lacrosse and volleyball were all sports that had been on her wish list. If only there was more time.
“I always wanted to play them all,” she said. “But it just wasn’t reasonable with the amount of coursework I had.”
Still, the legacy she believes matters the most has nothing to do with academics or athletics.
After a Freedom student died in a biking accident, Takamatsu started researching the laws surrounding e-bikes and e-scooters. What she found surprised her.
There really weren’t many.
So it was suggested to her by state Senator Jay Collins that she make one.
Working through the “Ought to Be a Law” program offered by the school district, Takamatsu and her SGA teammates had the bill adopted and traveled to Tallahassee as one of only three schools to present their proposed law to the Senate.
While the bill was eventually voted down, the experience will never be forgotten.
“There just wasn’t enough research on it yet to pass a bill, but it was just a good experience to educate the public that it is an issue and we do need a fix for it,” she said. “If one day we’re able to figure out a solution…I feel like I had been a part of that just by getting the issue out to the public.”
In the fall, Takamatsu will attend USF, where she plans to study health sciences on a pre-med track, with an interest in becoming an ophthalmologist or LASIK surgeon. She has been inspired by her own experience with convergence insufficiency, a disorder that makes it difficult for her eyes to merge two images into one.
“It took three doctors, and finally, the third doctor was the one to listen to me as a patient, rather than just looking at the sheet of my symptoms,” Takamatsu said. “It changed my life. I want to be that kind of doctor for someone else.”
When she gives her speech at graduation, Takamatsu could fill it with her life story, she could rattle off her academic accomplishments, she could share all her experiences.
But that’s not her style.
Instead, she collected the favorite memories and reflections from classmates and wove them into her address. She is merely the valedictorian.
“The whole premise is: it’s not about me, it’s about us,” she said. “Every kid sitting in front of me worked hard and went through something to get there. They deserve to be part of that speech, too.”
Freedom top 10 GPAs
Maggie Takamatsu — 8.64
Stephanie Daglo — 8.56
Leah Wood — 7.96
Zuri Moore — 7.43
Hayder Alfatlawi — 7.26Meera Jamro — 7.12Raj Guntuku — 6.90Ainsley Meyer — 6.88
Brooke Teague — 6.88Andrew Feaster — 6.69