As a high school senior, it takes a lot of discipline and balance for Kaci Mills to win on and off the field.
"If you were to look at my phone calendar, it's insane. Literally every single step of every single day is planned out," Mills said.
Structure and family kept her focused throughout her four years of high school. The 17-year-old is the youngest of three, but somehow always found herself in the middle of her two brothers.
For high school, she followed in their footsteps and enrolled in Bishop Dunne Catholic School in Dallas.
"When I first came in it was like, 'Oh my gosh it's another Mills kid.' Teachers or friends would call me 'Little Mills,' like the youngest Mills," she said.
Her oldest brother, Cody set the academic standard in 2013 when he graduated as valedictorian. Her middle brother Justin raised the bar in 2015 and also graduated with the highest academic honor. This year, Kaci will graduate with a 4.48 GPA, which placed her at the top of her class as valedictorian. The three siblings are competitive on and off the field.
"I'm just glad they keep beating me," oldest brother Cody said. "They keep setting the bar higher and higher. When my brother was named valedictorian, his GPA was higher than mine, and my sister's GPA was higher than both of us."
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The three siblings are a triple threat, excelling in sports, the arts, leadership, science, and math.
"We all have different personalities and different areas we have gravitated towards. My brother Cody excelled in every sport he played. Now he's in the Air Force. My brother Justin is the musician in the family. We both play the piano, but he can play almost any instrument and he writes his own songs," Kaci said. "I am a leader and definitely the more social out of my siblings. I'm also a mix of both of them, in that I love science and math."
She says the "congratulations" really goes to her parents.
"We wanted to give back to our parents. The least we could give them, for giving us a private education, was to do well in school," she said.
After high school, Kaci will begin her freshman year at University of Texas at Arlington and pursue a degree in nursing.
