CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. - Genevieve Kennedy strives to be the best.

In the water, as a swimmer for Crystal River High School.

And in the classroom, where she is the school’s valedictorian.

“I would say I’m very competitive,” Genevieve said.

Genevieve’s was honored for her commitment to being the best with the Citrus County Spectrum Scholar Athlete of the Month award. The honor comes with a $1,000 scholarship which Genevieve will apply to Florida Southern, where she has committed to swim at the next level.

“I really get to de-stress,” she said. “It’s only you and the water. You can’t hear anyone else. There’s no other people talking to you. It’s you, the water and the race. It’s basically therapy for me.”

Genevieve gets just as much from the classroom. And she can thank her parents for instilling a love of learning. Both educators, her mom teaches at Crystal River High School and her dad is a member of the Citrus County School Board.

“They’ve always pushed me since I was little that school is the No. 1 priority in life,” Genevieve said.

“She recognizes that every time she accomplishes something, it’s changed her,” her mother Thomasine said. “She’s more mature. She has more confidence. She has less fear about the next challenge.”

Genevieve is the perfect blend of scholar and athlete. She’s racked up as many athletic honors in the pool, including Gulf Coast All Conference Swimmer of the Year, as she has scholastic honors.

“She’s really a product of the village. The village has raised our children,” her father Thomas said. “And Genevieve, I think she just feels a responsibility to be a part of that village.

"They’ve been good to her, she wants to be good to it.”