Valedictorian Roka Brovick looks back at meaningful experience at Spokane Valley Tech

Valedictorian, check. Associated Student Body President, check. Most likely to change the world, check.

OK, that last one isn’t as real as the other two, but Spokane Valley Tech graduating senior Roka Brovick would be pretty close to a sure thing for that as well. His long-term goal? Doing something that has a positive impact on the world, making it a better place.

He’s done that for the past four years at Valley Tech, an innovative program that combines technical education and experience in growing industries with a focus on career and college readiness. It is a collaborative effort among the Central Valley, East Valley, West Valley, and Freeman school districts.

Valley Tech’s career-based education emphasizes science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, and is designed to prepare students for college and careers in those fields. And that was right up Roka’s alley when he made a decision to attend as he finished middle school.

“I first heard about it in seventh grade, and then again in eighth,” he said. “What appealed to me was that it is smaller than traditional high schools and has more project-based learning. I talked with my parents, and they said it was my decision to do what I thought was best for me. Valley Tech has let me learn and apply the design process all four years there, and has provided me hands-on experience in the engineering field.

“What I’ve done there has not just been learning to learn, but doing something meaningful and building my skills each year. We’ve had one yearlong project each year where we actually had to think creatively to solve a real problem. ”

That creative problem solving includes a senior year serving as ASB president, after an election he won handily in part by using an incentive-based reward system for student supporters. He ran for office because he likes to be in charge, he said, but also because he likes to help others. His leadership style is to be open to all different sorts of ideas.

“I want everyone to have fun and offer all their ideas,” he said. “Brainstorming ideas is like engineering design, where you don’t discount anything, just share your ideas and see what we can figure out. As president, I’ve wanted to try something new, not just do the same old stuff.”

Roka’s influence on Valley Tech has been profound, says his physics and advanced manufacturing instructor Mark Bitz.

“Roka does everything well,” Bitz said. “His work ethic is amazing, and so are his talent and value set. We have pushed at Valley Tech to create a certain culture and our own identity, and under Roka’s leadership students have come to see that it’s cool to work hard, learn and collaborate. He is a great speaker, and he knows everybody here. He shows by example what leaders do.”

Unsurprisingly, Roka’s favorite toys as a child were LEGOS, and he points out that they still are, having purchased a 7,500-piece set a couple years ago. With his father and step-mother living in San Diego, he’s had the opportunity to visit LEGOLAND on several occasions.

Roka will attend the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, this fall, a choice he made because he made in part because of the university’s similarity to Valley Tech, small in size and focusing on STEM fields of study. He doesn’t know yet exactly where he will specialize, but thinks it may end up being mechanical engineering.

“I love solving problems by thinking creatively,” he said, “and as I look back at high school, I see how meaningful my experience at Valley Tech has been. Our school is small, and it was really close-knit. It didn’t even feel like school, because everybody knew each other and we had conversations about everything.”