The Palm Beach Post

Boca Raton co-valedictor­ian sees corporate law in his future

- By Faran Fagen

John “Jack” Chapman’s chief goal is making government more representa­tive of people than money. “Having spent time living in the two most influentia­l swing states, Ohio and Florida, I believe I have potential as a federal-level politician,” said the Boca Raton High co-valedictor­ian.

Chapman’s 4.0 GPA helped him tie for first out of 904 senior Bobcats. Among many accolades, he was a U.S. Presidenti­al Scholars candidate and National Advanced Placement Scholar.

As far as college, he’s waiting to hear from a group of schools. So far, he’s been accepted to the honors programs at the University of Virginia and the University of Florida, and the University of California-Irvine and the University of Wyoming. He already has his sights set on graduate school.

“I’ll earn a dual J.D. and MBA

degree to prepare myself for a future career in corporate law and eventually towards presiding over a corporatio­n of my own,” said the 18-year-old Boca Raton resident. “After spending time in business, I plan on serving the public as a politician and bureaucrat.”

Chapman, who was involved in many clubs, is most proud that he’s been able to work with all the people in student government, especially underclass­men.

“Seeing these students grow and seeing my own personal growth through involvemen­t in this organizati­on has been a privilege,” said Chapman, who was student body president his senior year.

For community service, he organized a supply drive for Florida Keys victims of Hurricane Irma. He also helped run Boca High’s Dance Marathon to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network and volunteere­d as an assistant coach for Pop Warner youth football.

He spent three years on the varsity football team as a center and long snapper and was a Florida All Star. He was also a senior captain on the water polo team and spent two years on varsity wrestling.

Chapman took Mandarin Chinese at Stanford University the summer between his sophomore and junior year and started high school math in sixth grade, which let him begin freshman year in all Cambridge Advanced Internatio­nal Certificat­e of Education/ AP courses.

His parents, Ann and Frank, are also proud of his community accomplish­ments, such as managing government contracts issued by the U.S. Department of Agricultur­e and National Park Service. He reviewed and prepared property examinatio­ns detailing land rights including water, agricultur­e, grazing, oil and mineral rights.

See valedictor­ians’ stories at palmbeachp­ost.com/valedicto--

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