Kaden Smien, the son of Reem and Eddie Smien of Salado, is the Salutatorian for the Salado High School graduating class of 2018 with an overall GPA of 110.807.

He has attended Salado schools since the seventh grade.

He will attend Texas A&M University in the fall, where he will study business, majoring in finance. Smien says that he would like to go on to earn a Masters of Business Administration and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence.

“My future plans include becoming a successful businessman and investor,” Smien said. “I wish to someday start my own investment firm and become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company.”

He says that living in a small community like Salado “has naturally instilled in me a competitive nature. The idea going into every day is to do something better than you did yesterday, or to learn something new. Salado and a few other aspects in my life have taught me that.”

At Salado High, Smien participated in soccer, football, Student Youth Leadership, and National Honor Society. He was a four-year starter on the varsity soccer team and was named to the All-District soccer team every year. He was named to the First Team All-Region soccer team the last two years. “We made it to the third round of the playoffs this year,” he said.

He played varsity football three years and was named to the All-District team as a senior, when the Eagles made it to the State Quarterfinals.

He balances extra-curricular activities with a full slate of Advanced Placement course. He took AP Calculus, Statistics, English III, English IV, US History, World History, Microeconomics, United States Government, Biology, and Physics in preparation for a rigorous college education.

Every teacher “has left a positive impact on me,” Smien said. “I would have to say that teachers and coaches are one of the most underrated professions.”

“Just a few teachers and coaches I would like to thank are: Mr. Cabaniss, for teaching me the values of always trying to learn; Mrs. Bagley, for teaching me the values of learning from your mistakes; Coach Goos, for teaching me the value of hard work; Coach Cruddas, for teaching me the value of standing up for what I believe in; and last but not least, Coach Haire, for teaching me the value of never giving up, even when the going gets tough. All of these teachers and coaches played a vital role in getting me to where I am at now,” he said.

Smien will work part-time and learn the game of golf this summer. “I believe golf is a sport that teaches a person a lot, including how to control their emotions. As for the summer of my college years, I plan on doing mostly internships to get some hands on learning for my respective field.”