The American Dream
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Valedictorian and Salutatorian before graduation.
It’s not every day you’re asked to choose between two dreams.
But that’s exactly where Bridget Ciambotti found herself this May.
On one hand: walking across the Bull Ring at Miller School of Albemarle, diploma in hand, surrounded by friends, family, and faculty—a culmination of years of hard work.
On the other: lining up at the start of the USA Cycling Junior National Championships, chasing a title she’d trained for since childhood.
Both events. Same day. Different states.
Graduation or Nationals?
Most people would agonize over the decision. Bridget didn’t.
She chose both.
As soon as she saw the schedule conflict, Bridget did what any competitive cyclist might do—she pulled up Google Maps. Miller School to Charleston, West Virginia: just under four hours. Race start: 6:00 PM.
She started planning.
Leave campus by 1:00 PM—maybe 12:30, if Mr. Drude keeps his speech brief. Arrive in Charleston at 5:00. Park. Change. Bike check. On the trainer by 5:30. Staging at 5:45. Gun goes off at 6:00. Cross the finish line at 6:55—hopefully, in first place.
Tight? Yes. Possible? Absolutely.
But why stop there?
Bridget also set her sights on one more goal: earn the honor of valedictorian and deliver a speech to the entire school community.
Speak. Graduate. Drive. Race. Win.
Bridget Ciambotti knows how to set goals—and more importantly, how to achieve them. Over the past four years at Miller School, she’s taken the school’s most rigorous courses. She loves math and science. She sprints toward difficult math problems with the same joy and intensity as she sprints toward finish lines.
And while she claims not to fully understand the symbolism in the novels and plays she reads in English class, she somehow manages to write graceful, insightful essays that weave evidence and meaning into her arguments as fluidly as she moves through the peloton in the final lap of a race.
For Bridget, academic and athletic success are fueled by the same thing: a love of the process. She learns the way she rides—with discipline, delight, and total commitment.
From the outside, it might look like Bridget lives, learns, and races with a perpetual tailwind. But behind every finish line, there’s a support crew—and Bridget’s journey has been fueled by a team of teachers, coaches, classmates, and family who’ve believed in her from the start.
She first pedaled across the Miller School campus when she was just eight years old. Her parents had signed her up for the Cutaway Girls Mountain Bike Team. As she rode the trails and made friends, she fell in love with the Hogwarts-like buildings and quietly dreamed of returning one day—not as a camper, but as a student.
That dream came true her freshman year.
Since then, Bridget has improved steadily as a cyclist, sharpening her skills alongside some of the best female riders in the country—many of them teammates on the Hill. By her junior year, she was winning major road races and catching the eye of the USA National Team. That summer, she traveled to Europe to race internationally as a member of the team and delivered strong results. When she returned, still just 17, she was offered a spot on the roster of Twenty28 Pro Cycling—one of the top professional women’s teams in the country.
As her senior year came to a close and the warm May temperatures heated up her daily training, Bridget learned that her cumulative GPA had earned her the honor of being the Class of 2025 valedictorian as well as acceptance to the University of Virginia’s Engineering School. Concurrently, her results on the bike that spring showed that she would be a favorite for the National title. It was coming together.
On graduation day, Bridget delivered an inspiring speech that celebrated her classmates and experiences as a Maverick. As planned, she was in her car driving to West Virginia just before 1:00 PM (thanks for the short speech, Mr. Drude).
She arrived at the race venue just after 5:00 PM and made it to the start line with just a few minutes to spare. Rain began to pour out of the sky just as the gun went off. Bridget launched off the front of the peloton halfway through the race with one other girl. The two rode clear of the group and gained a nearly two-minute lead going into the final 1-mile lap. She was so close to achieving her dream. She just needed to outsprint this one girl in a two-up sprint to the line. She attacked with 500 meters to go. She could see the finish line. She could feel the excitement of throwing her arms in the air as National Champion.
And then she felt it. A push of air to her left. And then she saw her competitor come out of her slipstream and start inching forward. And then, just feet from the finish line, she got passed. It would be a silver medal. Second place. So close. It was right there.
People often say it’s the journey, not the destination, that matters most. Even though Bridget’s dream day didn’t have a perfect ending, there was perfection in the pursuit. Just being in position to win was a victory by a mile. The path that led to that final sprint—across campus, across disciplines, across state lines—could only be imagined by a true Maverick. And the accomplishments of that day, and the years of work that led to them, could only be achieved by a true champion.
