Top of the class finds strength in numbers

They’re both into numbers, didn’t study as much as one might expect and are both headed to Big Ten schools.

They also each earned grade-point averages well above 4.0 to take the top two spots in Cedar Grove-Belgium High School’s class of 2025.

Gabe Bruhn had a 4.382 and is the valedictorian. Brayden Oelhafen had 4.366 and is the salutatorian.

They tracked their GPAs online and could see their class rank. Principal Josh Ketterhagen informed them of their final standing in January.

“I felt really happy that I was able to get there but I feel like the work that I put in was equal to that of getting it, so I felt kind of satisfied but not overly excited,” Bruhn said.

Ranking No. 1 wasn’t his goal when he entered high school, and it wasn’t until junior year when he realized it was possible.

 Oelhafen wasn’t aiming for the top of his class when he entered high school either, until he realized it was possible.

“I was tracking it the whole time. I knew there were some scholarships that go with it,” he said.

He, too, was proud when he learned he was salutatorian.

“It felt like goal achieved. Seeing my hard work pay off is just a nice feeling no matter what it is,” Oelhafen said.

There was one downside. Ketterhagen told both they had to give a speech during the graduation ceremony, “which we weren’t thrilled for,” Oelhafen said.

But both survived their public speaking engagements just fine and enjoyed their time in school leading up to the milestones.

Bruhn’s favorite class was also his toughest, advanced chemistry with his favorite teacher, Tina Stauber.

“I had quite a few friends in there. We were closely knit. We had a lot of fun with Ms. Stauber,” who Bruhn said was strict but had a good sense of humor.

Advanced chemistry was also Oelhafen’s hardest class. He said he found chemistry in general challenging. His favorite class was Advanced Placement Calculus BC. It was composed of the top four students in the class, “and we’re all friends,” he said.

Evelyn Ramos-Garcia was No. 3 and Audrey Leuth was No. 4.

The tiny class made it easier to learn, Oelhafen said.

When it came to study skills, Bruhn admitted he wasn’t as diligent as he will need to be in college, but he found 15-minute chunks to be effective.

“I did not study too much compared to how I should have. I would usually wait for the morning when I had a test or something, specifically the things I didn’t understand. I would get up at like 5 a.m. and go through everything,” he said.

“I usually was able to retain information better when I had the pressure.”

Oelhafen’s process wasn’t vastly different.

“I studied in chunks a lot, even when some procrastination hit. The last-minute cram always helps too. You always have to study before that. You’re not going to learn much (just cramming),” he said.

Oelhafen said he relied on AP Classroom, a collection of online tools for Advanced Placement classes, and Khan Academy, a YouTube channel filled with educational resources.

Both balanced their unique study skills with a host of extracurricular activities that provided them with their favorite high school memories.

Bruhn played golf all four years, basketball for two years, football for one and was a member of the National Honor Society.

His best time was on the links.

“Making it to sectionals for golf three times in a row,” Bruhn said. “It was a ton of fun being able to be part of school history.”

He improved from the fifth spot on varsity to being the team’s top golfer.

“I really was trying to focus through the winter on simulators when others weren’t doing anything,” he said.

Bruhn worked at Whistling Straits for one summer, allowing him to play there, calling both “extraordinary experiences.”

Bruhn also played piano in the First Reformed Church of Cedar Grove’s youth band, and  he volunteered once a month at the Harbor Club senior living facility in Port Washington, helping residents learn how to use their phones, computers and laptops.

“That gave me great time to connect with the people there,” he said.

Bruhn said he learned to manage his time better as a junior and senior. Golf meets caused him to miss some classes, and an illness knocked him out for two weeks as a senior.

Oelhafen played football and baseball for four years and basketball for three. He was also a member of the National Honor Society and the school’s peer leadership group Sources of Strength, a mental health program aiming to help students cope with a variety of issues.

His favorite experiences were winning the Big East Conference in football, beating rival Oostburg in the fog — “that was really cool and we were wearing our white uniforms” —  and advancing to the sectional final in baseball.

He worked at Piggly Wiggly in Cedar Grove and now is at the Kwik Trip off Highway 43 in the Town of Wilson.

Both plan on careers of crunching numbers of sorts.

Bruhn will attend Indiana University at Bloomington to study accounting. His mother is an accountant at his father’s dental office, Oostburg Family Dentistry. Bruhn took to figures and finance over flossing and fluoride. So did his brother Nathaniel, who is studying accounting at Marquette.

Indiana University, Bruhn said, has a high-ranking business school with a program that connects students with the community and business leaders, including the chance to work on real-life applications.

“The integration from going from school into the workforce is much stronger than other schools,” he said.

Oelhafen is off to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to study actuarial science, which uses math and statistics to predict financial risk, often for insurance companies or hospitals.

“I really liked math and I enjoyed statistics when I took it in high school,” he said.

Oelhafen and his parents hadn’t heard of that career before. His mother is a bartender at Buffalo Wild Wings and his father is the postmaster at the Port Washington Post Office.

Both advised those seeking success in high school to study hard and challenge themselves.

“Even though it might not be very easy to do it your first couple of years, try your hardest to develop a good study habit and work ethic. It will make it easier,” Bruhn said.

Oelhafen said to take AP classes to earn college credit and to take a deeper dive into subjects.

“Just try your best and really focus in school. Don’t just not take it seriously. Be active and attentive in all your classes,” he said.