Milla Asenov is headed to the University of Florida after a high school career in which she earned class valedictorian honors at Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation and compiled a 4.743 GPA. Asenov was a regular student in most ways, but here’s five things that made her stand out from the crowd.
The process
Milla didn’t set out to become class valedictorian at Kirkland. The title simple caught up to her. Milla loaded her schedule at Kirkland Ranch with tough classes and then jumped into dual enrollment at Pasco-Hernando State College her sophomore year. She needed 60 credits for an associate degree; she finished with 102. Her transcript is stacked with biology, chemistry, calculus and other science-heavy classes, all aimed at preparing her for a biochemistry major, and eventually a career in the medical field. Like most valedictorians, she says calculus provided one of the few hairy moments on her journey. “My friend said that her father ended up quitting his degree and dropping it because he failed calculus, so I was so scared, Milla said. “I remember needed a 70 on my final to get an A, and that’s what I got, a 70. It was stressful.”
Running right at it
Milla loves new experiences, and the more harrowing the better. “I’m a real big adrenaline junkie,” she says. She doesn’t just love new experiences; she runs straight at them. Like last summer, on a family trip to Ecuador, Milla decided to try bungee jumping. When it was her turn, she was told she had two options: run and jump off the platform and stand on it and it can be yanked out from under you. “I said, ‘OK, which one is scarier?’” she said. “And he said, running and jumping is worse. I said, ‘OK, I’ll do that one.’” Milla says the experience was amazing. Next up: Skydiving. “My mom, she’s also an adrenaline junkie, so I blame her for all of this,” Milla said, laughing.
See the world, be the world
While many teenagers have yet to leave the United States, Milla has already stamped her passport a few times. Born in Omaha to Bulgarian parents, Milla has traveled to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, where she packed in tours and outdoor adventures, and to the Cayman Islands and Mexico for beachy, resort-style trips. She hiked Machu Picchu over four grueling days in Peru, sleeping on the mountains. “We smelled awful, but it was amazing,” she said. She has explored Paris, and her graduation gift: a trip to Japan this summer. Milla saves all her ticket stubs and mementos and keeps them in scrapbooks, so she can revisit those places again and again. “I have a bunch of sticky notes taped up on my wall, filled with places I want to go.”
The future
Milla’s path through Kirkland’s magnet program helped her realize that medicine isn’t just textbooks and exams, it’s about people. She started in the biomedical sciences track but switched to patient care, which is more like nursing, her sophomore year. That decision helped shaped her entire high school experiences, thanks in part to teacher Jacqueline Tellez, or “Momma T” as her students call her. “She’s like a very kind person, really puts it into perspective how you should be acting in the hospital, and when we did clinical, she was so helpful.” Milla earned five industry certifications, and the time she spent time in clinical settings around real patients made her see just what kind of provider she hopes to be. “That was definitely like a big eye opener for me,” she said. “There’s a big difference between knowing the science and, you know, being able to treat patients and stuff like that and actually being able to like comfort them.”
Leading the way
If something was happening at Kirkland, there’s a good chance Milla was near the planning table. She served in student government all four years as class president each year. She contributed to the building of long-standing traditions at the school, helping organize proms, homecomings and fundraisers. She also led in HOSA, competing in biomedical debate, going to states twice and was president for two years. Sometimes, however, with a dual enrollment schedule pulling her off campus, it was difficult to remain connected. She said her senior class trip to Universal Studios reminded her of the closeness of the senior class. “The Grad Bash trip kind of reminded me again of all the similarities that we have,” she said, a point she intended to follow up on in her valedictorian speech to classmates.
“We’re all the same,” she said. “I just want to remind them about how good it is. We all worked hard to get here. And the best is yet to come.”