Matney's drive to succeed propelled her to Valedictorian of Shelbyville's Class of 2024

Shelbyville High School’s Class of 2024 Valedictorian fought through the urge to just be done with school one month early. Isabella Matney even had to return to school during the final week when seniors were dismissed to take one more AP exam.

“I’ve been pushing myself so hard for the past three years but the end of my senior year was so hard,” said Matney. “Senioritis is real!

“I had to take six AP exams and one of my exams I had to take after all the other seniors were already out of school. I had a whole week to study but no motivation to study.”

Matney was initially ranked No. 2 in her graduating class as a freshman but challenged herself to go after the top spot.

“I was very happy with where I stood (as a freshman),” she said. “I knew if I worked harder and was more disciplined with myself I would be able to achieve a higher ranking.”

One year later she ascended to that top ranking in her class.

Matney will attend Indiana University in the fall to study Biology with the goal of one day teaching as a professor at the college or university level.

“I love teaching people. I’ve been a tutor these past couple of years,” she said. “I was co-editor for the yearbook and that involved a lot of teaching people how to use the software and I had to do some lesson planning. I had to figure out a lot of problems with the yearbook because we had to cut down on a lot of pages.

“Even though it was kind of a headache, I really enjoyed it. I loved being able to see the rest of the kids in the class succeed.”

Despite her love of Biology, she chose teaching over medicine even as both her parents work in the medical industry.

“It’s not that I don’t think I can do it, but I am kind of done with school now and I know if I do want to go to medical school, I would have to go into pre-med and that would be a lot.

“I really thought I wanted to be a doctor for a long time, I just don’t know if I would be happy. I know (teaching) is something I can do and be happy. And if I don’t want to get my PhD, I can always teach at a community college and be happy with that just so long as I can teach and live a happy life. That is what I want to do.”

Matney was active in a number of clubs and academic teams over her Shelbyville career. She was in Student Council, Spanish Club, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Bring Change to Mind, Art Club and National Art Honor Society, National Honor Society, Leadership Council and Mentoring. She also was part of Spell Bowl, Science Academic Team, English Academic Team and worked for the student newspaper as well as being on the yearbook staff.

Matney is currently in her fourth year working at the Meridian Park Family Aquatic Center in Shelbyville and is preparing for a family trip to Venice, Italy, later this summer.

With her valedictorian honor secured, Matney knew she would have to deliver a speech at graduation. Of course, she procrastinated as long as possible before giving in and sketching out her speech.

“I was so worried about all my other AP exams, I kept thinking I just need to get through this (test) and I will be able to write it,” she said. “They told me to submit (my speech) on a Wednesday and I got it to them by Thursday night.”

Matney was intent on thanking everyone that got her to that moment, even if it meant sacrificing a greater message.

“(Shelbyville High School Principal Amy Dawson) gave me some advice that I had too many thank yous and that I should probably cut back on some of them,” said Matney. “She didn’t want people to just remember my thank yous and not my actual speech.

“I was thinking about which ones to cut and thought I can’t cut any of these. I have to show my friends and family what they have done for me is appreciated and I knew it would mean a lot to them. So I didn’t make any changes.”

All those acknowledgements, though, made the speech even more emotional.

“The first part (of the speech) was easy but the thank yous were not,” admitted Matney. “But I made it through. I did have to pause because I got choked up and then I looked at my mom (Angela) and she was sobbing and that didn’t help.”

Matney is excited for the new challenges that await in Bloomington, which she felt was the right place for her.

“I did fall in love with the campus. My whole family went there too,” she said. “I think it’s a good distance away. I got some good scholarships there.

“The thing is, when I was choosing where I go to college I wasn’t really worried about it because almost every college has a good Biology program. I felt like no matter where I went I could make the most out of my experience and have good opportunities. So I just chose the school I knew I would be comfortable at, that I wouldn’t have to go in debt for and it was a good distance away. I felt (IU) was a good choice.”