She was barely into her freshman year, when Riley Murry’s dream of maintaining all A’s suddenly looked in jeopardy.
She had enrolled in geometry and found her nine-week grade at a precarious 89 percent — a solid grade for most.
But not for Murry.
“That set the pace,” she said. “I knew I needed to step it up. It wasn’t going to be like middle school.”
Murry quickly rebounded, and scored a 98 percent in her follow-up nine-week stretch, securing the A grade for the semester.
She looks back now with a slight grin.
“I’ve always been good at math, but there’s something about geometry I don’t like. To this day, shapes really get me.”
After the early scare, the rest of Murry’s high school career went off without a hitch.
Murry is one of four outgoing seniors to have maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA through high school.
“It’s really unimaginable how quickly it all goes by,” she said. “I’m graduating? Oh, my goodness.”
THE DAUGHTER of Aaron and Kim Murry, Riley plans to attend the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy in the fall.
But unlike others who pursue degrees in pharmacy, Riley’s sights are a bit different.
She’s eschewing a career in retail, in favor of working
exclusively with transplant patients and helping determine the medications they need.
“I got to visit KU’s School of Pharmacy, and it opened my eyes that it was even an option,” she said. “I enjoy problem-solving, trying to fix things,” she said of the decision.
MURRY appreciates growing up in a rural community, where she’s maintained many of the same friends she’s known since kindergarten.
“I’ve enjoyed the relationships everyone has with everyone,” she said. “Everybody knows everybody.”
Two of her closest friends, Sydney Wade and Ben Cooper, also are fellow 4.0-ers.
“It helped that Sydney and I were so close,” Murry explained. “We were in the same boat, where we knew we’d have to stay in to study sometimes. We had the same math study group.”
Likewise, both Murry and Cooper determined to pursue pharmacy following their experiences in sophomore year chemistry.
“Ben and I were able to push one another,” she said. “I’m excited he’ll eventually end up at KU. It’ll be cool seeing him again.” (Cooper is first attending Allen Community College, while Murry — who already has several college credits under her belt — is headed straight to KU out of high school.)
MURRY attributes her natural predisposition to worry as one of the keys to her classroom success.
“I’d always do homework as soon as it was assigned,” she said. “I hate waiting until the last minute, which made it easier for me, so I had my free time afterward. It saved a lot of worry and stress if I got my work out of the way.”
And while she’ll miss the close-knit bond she has with several of her classmates, she’s ready to spread her proverbial wings.
“I like how small Iola is, but I don’t think I’m going to miss how small Iola is,” she said. “I’m excited to see what’s out there. This is a new beginning. I’m excited to get out, branch out and meet new people.”
