The salutatorian is a highly respected student who finishes second in the class.

“Being salutatorian represents all the hard work I put into my academics. It makes all the stress, long nights, difficult subjects and time more than worth it,” senior Isabelle Reynolds said.

Reynolds shared her academic secret to success.

“I was able to keep a balance between my personal life, extracurricular activities and school by keeping a planner. My planner allowed me to lay out my day/week and plan ahead. I also took advantage of every free moment during the school day to get my work done. The most important aspect is to not procrastinate,” Reynolds said.

When going through four years of such outstanding dedication, support from friends, family and teachers is essential.

“My mom was always encouraging me to be my best and give my all in everything I do, including school. My mamaw was a teacher and always encouraged me to learn everything I could in all aspects of life. My oldest brother Carter was valedictorian of his graduating class and inspired me to strive for academic success. All of my teachers also encouraged me to succeed and help me be the best student possible,” she said.

When someone looks back at their high school experience, there are many instances where someone might wish or be hopeful that they could have done something differently.

“Looking back, I was overcommitted with all of my extra-curricular activities, high level classes and personal life, which caused me to be stressed and overwhelmed. I would have probably chosen what was most important to me and sacrificed some activities because of the level of stress I was under,” she said.

After all of the hard work put into such an achievement, her time at the podium on graduation night will make it worth it.

“I plan to go to Manchester University where I will be playing basketball and get a pre-occupational therapy degree. Then, I will go to grad school and get my masters in occupational therapy, and eventually become a pediatric occupational therapist, which has been a dream of mine,” she said.