One day, Plant City High School senior Dhara Patel was No. 1 in her class.
The next day, she was last.
PCHS College and Career Counselor Sherrie Mueller pulled up Patel’s grades in the system two weeks ago to discover Patel had dropped in rank to No. 409 out of 409 students.
It was a shock. And also impossible. But Mueller had an idea about what happened to the academic powerhouse’s grade-point average.
Patel’s GPA was sitting at a 10.031. As a two-digit number, it was so high that the computer system couldn’t recognize it and defaulted to a .031.
Mueller had known Patel had a 9.9 before grades rolled in at the closing of last semester in January. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen when Patel’s grades factored in to bump her up the scale.
So, Mueller brought it up at a district meeting.
“I don’t think anyone believed that I had a student with a 10.0,” Mueller said.
Sure enough, after the grades rolled in Patel’s GPA had crashed the system. Again, Mueller went to the district.
“I said, ‘I told you it was coming,’” Mueller said. “I just knew she could do it.”
And she did — but not with a lot of hard work.
Since she was a freshman, Patel had been taking advanced-placement courses. Throughout her high school career, she enrolled in more than 10. During her junior year, her entire schedule consisted of AP classes. She studied all different subjects, including calculus, statistics, human geography, European history, psychology and more.
She was also dual-enrolled at Hillsborough Community College, adding even more weight to her GPA. She took so many classes at HCC that she also will receive her associate’s degree of liberal arts in the spring, as well as her high school diploma.
“I was focused more on getting the degree,” Patel said. “I guess that just pushed (the GPA) over the edge.”
At HCC, she studied nutrition, astronomy, public speaking, among many others. She mostly took classes online but did attend some classes on campus after a full day at Plant City High School. Some even lasted until 9 p.m.
“Family definitely told me that education was important,” Patel said. “But probably at the beginning of my sophomore year, I pushed myself, because I wanted to get into a good school.”
With the help of HCC professor and guidance counselor Sharlotte Henderson, Patel was able to orchestrate a schedule that would earn her an associate’s degree.
“It was a hard balancing act, but it came together,” Patel said. “And I am just so grateful.”
In addition to a full class schedule, Patel is also president of the Science Club, Civinettes and Future Business Leaders of America; treasurer for Best Buddies; on the board of Executive Council; and competes in science and math competitions.
“I always try to get to as many meetings and events and make time for my clubs,” Patel said. “I love working with people. I do a lot of community service.”
Patel is a Plant City native and the daughter of Bhavania and Ditak Patel. Her brother, Parthik, was salutatorian in 2012.
Patel will be attending the University of Florida in the fall to study microbiology. She hopes to one day become a dentist or an orthodontist.
“I’m looking forward to maturing a bit more,” Patel said. “And it’s far enough away, where I can be on my own, but I can always come back on the weekends.
“I really like it here; everyone’s so nice to each other, and I love that family feel,” Patel said. “I love my family. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.