LUTZ — Vaibhav Bhaskar had it planned all along.
He knew the number, he knew who held it and he knew he wanted to beat it. Setting the state record for the highest high school GPA doesn’t happen by accident.
So on May 24 at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall, he crossed the stage ahead of the other 606 Steinbrenner High School graduates with an 11.99 weighted grade-point average — well beyond the previous record, also held by a former Tampa-area student.
In 2022, Gaither’s Dylan Mazard set that mark at 11.84, nearly a point and a half higher than the record set in 2019.
Bhaskar’s sights were set long before he got to Steinbrenner.
“I’ve always had my goal set to be valedictorian,” he said. “I’ve always pushed myself to take the hardest classes. And I think around the end of my freshman year, it came out (about being valedictorian and the record number) and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s awesome.’ That’s kind of the goal I want to set for myself.
“And sophomore year,” he added, “I found that college wise, I was really interested in finance and economics. So I transitioned from just focusing on grades to activities and stuff. And honestly, I’ve been focusing a lot on nonprofit work. And I would say the work ethic I’ve carried from that is that my GPA is kind of like a byproduct.”
Such a number demands an extraordinary course load. Bhaskar took 20 Advanced Placement courses and 24 dual enrollment college classes, enough to earn an associate degree alongside his diploma. He ran nonstop for four years — at times without a lunch period.
“My junior year, I didn’t have a lunch period,” he said. “I pretty much took every AP class my school offers except for AP Spanish II. … I took college classes at (Florida) when my school started offering UF dual enrollment classes.
“And I’m not all about school, school, school,” he added. “I really enjoyed the AP classes. I loved learning about different things and I’m very interested in economics, so I would say hands down that my favorite AP class I’ve taken is AP Macro/Micro Economics. But (the AP classes allowed) me to explore different subject areas that I have never had before, like AP Physics C. It was very interesting to learn about (something) I would just not have the opportunity anywhere else to learn.”
Bhaskar’s record — and his pursuit of it — surprised nearly everyone, including his principal.
“Shortly after GPAs were frozen and he was informed that it was official,” Steinbrenner principal Tiffany Ewell said, “he mentioned to us that he believed it was a record high for the district and for the state. When he submitted his graduation speech, I realized he has aspired to this goal for quite some time. … While we always encourage students to challenge themselves and pursue their goals, we place greater emphasis on a well-rounded high school experience and appropriately challenging coursework, rather than on the sheer volume of courses taken.
“What impressed me most about Vaibhav is that even though he worked hard to achieve this goal, he seemed to put the achievement into perspective with the other aspects of his school experience. The way he was able to achieve this massive feat while also actively being involved in clubs, community service and building relationships with his classmates was pretty remarkable and demonstrates a maturity that you don’t often see in high school students.”
His father, Bhaskar Malayappan — who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and did postdoctoral work in cancer research but had just a 3.5 GPA in high school — also didn’t know his son was chasing the record.
“We didn’t know because we go to parties,” Malayappan said, “and everyone would be asking about his GPA or something like that and we thought around his freshman year he was at 9, but the 11.99 was a surprise for us actually — shocked that it was the record. … He took computer classes, but somehow he’s fascinated with economics, finance. He wants to make a lot of money. I don’t (laughs).”
Bhaskar plans to keep studying economics. He has interned at a stock transfer agency and a real estate private-equity firm, and published two research papers — one on financial risk analysis, the other on environmental conservation. At Steinbrenner, he served as chief financial officer of Back on Track America, a student-led nonprofit that set up tables to collect donations for homeless shelters and food banks.
Now he’s off to Duke, where he may not finish at the top of his class — and where he’s weighing whether to mention the record at all.
“You have to make new friends, and I get a roommate in a dorm and stuff like that, and it’s actually (a) random (person), so I don’t have a choice,” he said. “They just pair me, and I filled out some interest forms. … I don’t know if I’ll tell him about the GPA — I might just keep it to myself. We’ll see about that. It could’ve been a record in another state, maybe (laughs).”