There’s a great deal of work that goes into being the head of the class. And Michael Stump, if you wouldn’t know better, appears to have done it while keeping a pretty calm, even-keeled demeanor.

Stump, 17, is Goochland High’s valedictorian this year. With a weighted grade point average of 4.7, he sits at the top of the class of 2008. And in that rareified air, he’ll be responsible for addressing his classmates Friday night.

But don’t hold your breath for a long, drawn out oratory from him.

“That’s just not my style,” he said with a smile. “I’ll keep it simple and short. People like that better, anyway.”

Stump is your typical teenaged guy, involved in sports and picking up odd jobs, helping neighbors with their yards, and hanging out with friends.

But he’s also his class’s top-ranked student and comes from a family where his two sisters were in the top 10, too.

“I’ve always been good with numbers and that really helped,” he said. “And things just kind of worked out I guess.”

In the fall, Stump will head to Blacksburg where he says a future in business lies in waiting at Virginia Tech.

“It was the atmosphere, I think,” Stump said of his decision to attend the school. “Plus, my sister Karen is there and a lot of friends are headed there. It was the right fit for me.”

He plans to study accounting and information systems. But even if he strays away from that, he says he’ll likely still stay in the Pamplin College of Business.

A three-year varsity player for the high school’s baseball team, Stump also played basketball and football. He’s also been a part of several clubs, including the National Honor Society and Interact Club.

“I’m kind of looking forward to it, but it’s a lot of change,” he said of graduating. “I’m excited but I’m going to look back on all of the good times I’ve had here.”

The last of Pam and Steven Stump’s three kids, Michael said it was kind of strange being the only one left and looking towards leaving soon.

“I think it might be tough on them at first,” he said of leaving his parents with an empty nest. “But they’re excited for me and looking forward to things.”

Leaving home, though, is something he said he understands is the next step. And so, even if he knows he’ll miss his friends and family from time to time, the chance to go out on his own is also something he’s looking forward to.

Stump and classmate Matt Peterson have already decided to room together during their freshman year at Virginia Tech.

“I think I’d just rather take my chances with someone I know instead of getting a random assignment,” he said. “And he was the same way, too.”
He’ll also be lucky, he added, in that there will be a lot of his friends at Virginia Tech next year.

Since public speaking isn’t exactly one of his favorite things to do, Stump admitted he was somewhat nervous about giving his speech to his classmates this week.

“I’ve enjoyed growing up here and I like the small town,” he said last weekend. “But I still have no real idea what I’m going to say next Friday night.”

Still, aside from a graduation ceremony and a rite-of-passage trip to the beach shortly thereafter, Stump said he’ll spend his summer just being himself, though he plans to try to work some.

“I think I’m just going to take it easy,” he said. “I’ve got some time to get ready for college and I’ll get there. For now, though, I’m going to just hang out with my friends and enjoy what time we have left.”