May 5, 2005

Miguel Visbal is the valedictorian and Emily Foubert the salutatorian of the Yellow Springs High School Class of 2005.

By Diane Chiddister

Yellow Springs High School has named Miguel Visbal the valedictorian and Emily Foubert the salutatorian of the Class of 2005.

Miguel, who is 18, plans to major in physics at Boston University next fall. He will also study biophysics and neuroscience and plans a career as a research scientist.

He is the son of Jane and Miguel Visbal and has two brothers, Eli and Alex.

The Visbal family moved to Yellow Springs when Miguel was 3, and he attended Mills Lawn School before the McKinney School and Yellow Springs High School. In high school he was active in football, swimming, band, the United Society, Quick Recall and TEAMS.

He said he has enjoyed the school’s small size and the personal attention that he feels teachers give the students. He especially appreciated classes he took with physics teacher Phil Lemkau, English teacher Elizabeth Lutz and former chemistry teacher Emily Riley.

“Each one was unique and I enjoyed their teaching styles,” Miguel said. “I felt compelled to do my best in their classes.”

Other adults who influenced him include his football coaches, Jerome Crosswhite, Fritz Leighty, Paul Lucas and Marcus Johnson, Miguel said. The YSHS football team was most often on the losing side of the scoreboard, he said, and his coaches fashioned that experience into valuable life lessons.

“I learned that life isn’t always going to hand you what you want, that if you want something you have to do the work,” he said. “And if you lose, you pick yourself up and continue on.”

Miguel also cited his parents as important influences.

“They encouraged me to do well and also gave me the opportunity to pursue what I want,” he said.

Emily Foubert, 18, plans to attend Beloit College in Beloit, Wisc., where she will major in the sciences, including chemistry, biology and engineering. She said she is also excited to play on the Beloit soccer team, and looks forward to studying abroad for a year.

Her parents are Diane and David Foubert, and she has four older brothers, Peter and James Ridgeway and John and Matthew Foubert.

Before coming to McKinney and YSHS, Emily attended the Antioch School, and the skills she learned there remain valuable, she said.

“I learned how to solve problems creatively, how to figure things out,” she said.

At YSHS Emily played soccer for four years and also served as team captain. She also took part in basketball, School Forest, the theater arts program and band.

In high school Emily identified Spanish teacher Kathryn Burkland and Lutz as especially important to her, and described Riley as “an awesome teacher. She pushed me to learn.”

Outside school, Emily cited her former Antioch School teacher, Bev Price, as an important adult in her life. But most influential, she said, have been her parents.

“They know that I put pressure on myself and have always supported me in everything I do,” she said.