Every high school had that one kid everyone was convinced would go far. They barely seemed to break a sweat over exams, had teachers singing their praises, and looked like they already had their future mapped out while everyone else was still figuring out what they wanted for lunch.
We found stories from former classmates who looked back and learned what became of the kids they once thought had the world at their feet. Grab a snack and scroll down to see how some of these high school stars turned out.
#21
Allegedly myself - was valedictorian and got into a program for my major at the top university for that major that only accepts 100 students a year. Got my PhD and now I’m so incredibly burnt out and have zero ambition left in me and just want to escape from my very mediocre career and open a cafe on a beach somewhere 🙃.
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8points
There is a big difference between knowing what you are good at and knowing what to do with it. Research on high school career planning has found that confidence and early work experience can shape how young people explore their career options.
Having someone in the real world to guide you, or getting a chance to see what a job is actually like, can give you information that sitting in a classroom cannot. That kind of exposure can set someone up for success later in life.
#22
Valedictorian, lived next to me for several years in college. Talked about investing in bitcoin in 2009 but not sure if he did, became a software engineer for an oil drilling company. Rich as hell.
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7points
#23
Two come to mind. One is a judge and the other is a math professor.
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7points
#24
He's a chicken farmer in Canada and if you know anything about chicken farming in Canada, you know it's a license to print money.
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7points
The student everyone thought was headed for some huge, glamorous career might end up doing something completely simple and different and end up loving it.
Meanwhile, someone who was never the obvious academic star could build an impressive career in a field nobody saw coming. A report card can tell you how someone did in school, but it cannot tell you what they will choose to pursue or where that choice will take them years later.
#25
One of my friends graduated top of the class scored extremely high on ACT/SAT, voted most likely to succeed, received a full ride to a great school then flunked out after a year. He just partied too much. I think he is a delivery driver now.
I was the complete opposite, partied a lot in high school didn’t really take class serious, scored below average on the ACT. I got my life together in college (still had a lot of fun though, just with discipline) I’m a physician now.
I was the complete opposite, partied a lot in high school didn’t really take class serious, scored below average on the ACT. I got my life together in college (still had a lot of fun though, just with discipline) I’m a physician now.
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7points
#26
She went to Duke. Graduated and went to UNC school of medicine. Then went to Harvard. Graduated and is now a researcher doing things many, many, many times beyond my I.Q. level.
She was so kind to me over the years and we had a brief crush on each other in middle school. But she’s happily married with kids and I’m so proud to say I know her. She’s an amazing human being.
She was so kind to me over the years and we had a brief crush on each other in middle school. But she’s happily married with kids and I’m so proud to say I know her. She’s an amazing human being.
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7points
#27
She went to John’s Hopkins and I think she’s a surgeon now.
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7points
Life has a funny way of working out, especially in our uncertain world. Sometimes things go pretty much as expected, and other times, one decision, opportunity, or twist can send someone in a completely different direction.
Which of these stories had the wildest plot twist, and what happened to the brilliant kid in your own class? Tell us in the comments.
#28
Stephanie was our class valedictorian. I went to elementary school with her as well. She was very quiet and shy. She apparently blossomed into an outgoing person in college. She is now a pediatrician. We are Facebook friends and chat every once in a while.
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7points
#29
She left her wall street job to focus on her social media presence after going viral on posts about financial literacy - now I see her in commercials and interviews! She definitely had the brains and drive, so it's well deserved and not a big surprise haha.
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7points
#30
It was me. I went to the big name school, ran the corporate rat race, burned out big time, and bailed on it all. I'm a stay-at-home parent now, which is even more exhausting than corporate America in many ways, but at least when my bosses ask me to wipe their asses, it's because I'm actually supposed to. Nobody from high school has heard from me since I left town unless they happen to be working at the grocery store or coffee shop when I go home to visit my parents every half decade or so.
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7points
#31
Had 8 kids and keeps messaging me about buying essential oils. I swore she could have become the president but nope, just an MLM mom.
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6points
#32
He became a billionaire at 20 for founding an AI company and also ended up being roommates with Sam Altman during the pandemic. He was a jerk in high school.
6points
#33
I will say this guy was legitimately extremely smart, but those of us in class with him could never quite figure out if he was as smart as everyone thought he was.
He was legitimately the top student in grade 9 and 10. In grade 11 and 12 he was on every committee at school and a few sports teams, and was given permission to do a bunch of random stuff in the community as well. He was never, ever in class but somehow always had high 90s grades. It didn't make sense to some of us, he never had to do the group projects (his extra curriculars were always accommodated) and even though the rest of us were held to an attendance standard thr school admin turned a blind eye. We always felt like he could smooth talk any teacher into giving him accomodation on an exam or a break on an assignment - the school got good publicity too from him being such a prolific volunteer.
I was on the yearbook committee with him, but here's the thing, he'd show up and give a great inspirational speech to the rest of us to keep working hard and that we were doing great, but would never actually contribute anything meaningful in terms of output.
He was our valedictorian and won a full ride scholarship to one of the best universities in the world. They gave out only a few of these per year.
He showed up to university and tried the same stuff - signing up for extra curriculars, volunteering, and trying to smooth talk the profs and admin out of attending class and doing work. Obviously didn't work out for him and he flamed out spectacularly.
I've fallen out of touch with him but last I heard he tried another come back at a less prestigious university but failed out again. He took a low level clerical role and at least according to LinkedIn has not really had much in the way of progressions / career advancement.
In retrospect I think he just halo effected hard. Everyone was caught up with a charming, athletic, intelligent young man. Everyone thought he was destined for greatness. But he never actually did much work or output anything and I think that caught up to him as an adult.
He was legitimately the top student in grade 9 and 10. In grade 11 and 12 he was on every committee at school and a few sports teams, and was given permission to do a bunch of random stuff in the community as well. He was never, ever in class but somehow always had high 90s grades. It didn't make sense to some of us, he never had to do the group projects (his extra curriculars were always accommodated) and even though the rest of us were held to an attendance standard thr school admin turned a blind eye. We always felt like he could smooth talk any teacher into giving him accomodation on an exam or a break on an assignment - the school got good publicity too from him being such a prolific volunteer.
I was on the yearbook committee with him, but here's the thing, he'd show up and give a great inspirational speech to the rest of us to keep working hard and that we were doing great, but would never actually contribute anything meaningful in terms of output.
He was our valedictorian and won a full ride scholarship to one of the best universities in the world. They gave out only a few of these per year.
He showed up to university and tried the same stuff - signing up for extra curriculars, volunteering, and trying to smooth talk the profs and admin out of attending class and doing work. Obviously didn't work out for him and he flamed out spectacularly.
I've fallen out of touch with him but last I heard he tried another come back at a less prestigious university but failed out again. He took a low level clerical role and at least according to LinkedIn has not really had much in the way of progressions / career advancement.
In retrospect I think he just halo effected hard. Everyone was caught up with a charming, athletic, intelligent young man. Everyone thought he was destined for greatness. But he never actually did much work or output anything and I think that caught up to him as an adult.
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6points
#34
I never thought about it. I just checked and he’s doing B2B marketing today, after graduating from the best Engineering school in the country. He’s doing good, but kind of a pity that he didn’t do more. I also checked the guy who had to repeat Senior year due to video gaming obsession. He got a PhD from Princeton and is now a University Professor. Happy for him! .
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6points
#35
Valedictorian went to Harvard, got a PhD in chemistry, and is now a machine learning engineer in robotics.
Salutatorian went to Stanford, then medical school, and is now a doctor.
The rest of the top of my class all did well. A few doctors, one leads an economic think tank, plenty of engineers, a few lawyers, and a few in financial services. One guy a few years under me really hit it big and is one of the co founders of a household name food tech company, he’s a retired billionaire now.
Salutatorian went to Stanford, then medical school, and is now a doctor.
The rest of the top of my class all did well. A few doctors, one leads an economic think tank, plenty of engineers, a few lawyers, and a few in financial services. One guy a few years under me really hit it big and is one of the co founders of a household name food tech company, he’s a retired billionaire now.
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6points
#36
Smartest guy, nicest guy, and a helluva basketball player. Doing quite well in the Chicago suburbs.
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5points
#37
We had twin sisters who were valedictorian and another guy who was salutatorian. They were the smartest people without a doubt, although there were a few who weren't far behind.
The sisters live on opposite sides of the country and one became an attorney and focuses on environmental law. The other sister got a few degrees related to microbiology and does something along those lines. The guy who came in third is a mathematics professor and specializes in probabilistic combinatorics and something else.
The sisters live on opposite sides of the country and one became an attorney and focuses on environmental law. The other sister got a few degrees related to microbiology and does something along those lines. The guy who came in third is a mathematics professor and specializes in probabilistic combinatorics and something else.
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5points
#38
He got into Yale but not Harvard, went to Yale and then to Harvard for Law School to just rub it in their face. Lived in Hong Kong and NYC working for a high level Capital Firm doing amazingly well. Then one day he suddenly passed away. Married, 2 kids. I guess the stress of the job, but heck, way too young. He was doing so amazingly well for himself. Very sad to hear about all of it.
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5points
#40
He graduated from a top state school and wanted to be a Navy Seal, but during the candidate school / training he developed psychosis and was dropped from the program.
His psychosis led to him making some serious threats in Twitter and is now facing 5-10 years of jail.
His psychosis led to him making some serious threats in Twitter and is now facing 5-10 years of jail.
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5points
