Anyone who has taken any of Ms. Julie Ratliff’s classes noticed all the certificates hung up on the wall honoring past students who have scored in the Top 10 percent on any High School of Business class final. 

Alan Hill, Rey-Ocampo Flores, Grace Ader, Ayan Abdi, and Blake Steinmertz were some of the students celebrated with a certificate and their name permanently framed in Ratliff’s room this year.

Ratliff stated, “Former HSB coordinator Amy Zulauf actually started the tradition a year that she had 11 students place in the Top 10 percent of that nation, so as a way to commemorate them and bring recognition to the HSB program she started a wall with all their names honored on it.” 

Along with Ratliff, the students that won the award this year now carry on the tradition. 

Alan Hill, who placed in the Top 10 percent in both Principles of Business and Business Economic said, “I feel that being honored in this way acts as a motivator to do well in class. It makes you feel proud of yourself for all the work you put in.” 

Not only does this tradition motivate students to put in that extra effort it gives students the chance to step up and be recognized. Whether it’s a freshman who is getting their name put up on the wall for the first time or a junior that is coming back for their third year in a row of placing in the Top 10 percent, this tradition gives students something extra to work for in HSB. 

Reymundo Ocampo-Flores said, “Who doesn’t want their name on a certificate and up on a wall? This tradition really acts as a sort of pick-me-up to let students know that their hard work is paying off and that they will get out of a class what they put into it. “