The 2014 valedictorian of Las Positas College is one of our own.
Yes, we’re bragging. We confess to the shameless self-promotion. But once you learn about Bekka Wiedenmeyer, it will be clear why we strayed from traditional objectivity.
Her impressiveness goes way beyond her 4.0 grade point average. It cannot be encapsulated by her role as editor-in-chief of the award-winning Express newspaper. To understand, you need to go back from the beginning.
Wiedenmeyer started at Las Positas College at 14 years old. The bright-eyed home-schooled sophomore took on the world of higher education.
In her third semester, at age 15, she joined The Express. She was giggly and naïve, but even then her eyes were set on becoming the editor-in-chief. She emerged from staff writer to news editor to associate copy editor and then managing editor. At 17, she became the leader of our great institution, unofficially the youngest in the 25-year history of the paper.
The top post of The Express is a laborious task. In edition to overseeing every element of the production, and being the liaison between faculty and the student-run staff, she managed the talent, personalities and tendencies of people who viewed her as a cute little kid.
And she did all this while racking up As in college and high school classes and holding down side jobs at Trinity Baptist Church day care and Crow Canyon Country Club.
Though she is only 18, nobody in the staff has ever questioned her authority. She has been a leader in the newsroom since she started. She usually has the biggest brain and the most talent in the room, yet works harder than anyone on staff. And she can morph from innocent little sweetheart to bulldog whenever it’s required.
Now she heads off to join the journalistic forces at California Baptist University.
The giggles have subsided. The naiveté has vanished. The name Bekka Wiedenmeyer will soon be synonymous with excellence. And we will be bragging about her every step of the way.