When the Phil Campbell High School class of 2017 walks the stage to receive their diplomas, Lauren Goines will be leading them.
As the school’s top academic performer, Goines is Phil Campbell High School’s valedictorian. It’s a fact that seems surreal to the soft-spoken senior.
“It means a lot, now that I know it’s real,” Goines said. “Everybody kind of thought that I’d get it but now that it’s here, it’s an extreme honor.”
The title of valedictorian is something Goines has been chasing for the last six years. Since the seventh grade, Goines said her goal has been to be the best she could possibly be.
“I don’t participate in any extracurricular activities or anything like that. I’ve always just mainly focused on my academics,” she said. “Ever since I thought I had a chance of being valedictorian, I’ve really been competitive and really tried my best to make good grades.”
Goines’s pursuit of academic greatness is something her teachers at Phil Campbell noticed right away.
“These days, there aren’t a whole lot of students that are just eager to learn. Lauren is eager to learn,” said Yolanda Odom, an English teacher at PCHS. “She’s dependable, hard working and extremely motivated. She comes to class prepared and always turns in her work on time. If could describe her in one way, I’d say she’s the ideal student.”
At school, Goines’s favorite subject is literature, which makes sense when the avid reader and writer describes why she enjoys the topic.
“In a book, you can write about anything and it takes you on a kind of journey that you can’t get anywhere else,” she said. “And I’ve always liked to write. Most people hate writing essays but I’ve always liked them because I got to express myself and my thoughts and my feelings.”
Odom says Goines’s fervor for reading and writing translates into her ability to grasp and comprehend the literature in front of her.
“As a teacher, you look for someone who has a passion for something and reading is something that you can tell Lauren has a passion for,” Odom said. “A lot of students can memorize what they need to for the test, but they don’t understand what they’re reading. Lauren has the ability to read something and get the message behind it. She’s a great reader and great readers typically turn out to be great writers, as well.”
In that way, Odom says Goines is far above the average student.
“She comprehends things on a level other students don’t want to or just can’t get to,” she said. “That’s a great ability for any student to have in any subject.”
As her high school career comes to a close, Goines says she will cherish the many memories and friendships she has made at Phil Campbell.
“We’re a really small school so everybody knows everybody and we’re all really close,” she said. “I think there are a lot of great memories we have that we’ll always remember and I think we’ll all stay friends for a long time after high school.”
Speaking honestly, the soon-to-be-graduated senior described the prospect of graduation as both exhilarating and frightening.
“I think we’re always talking about how excited we are to leave, but now that it’s here you kind of don’t want to,” she said. “We’ve been here since we were little and it’s all we know. After this, we can do anything we want which is exciting, but now that it’s here it’s also kind of scary.”
The next step for Goines in her academic career will be attending Northwest-Shoals Community College. She received a valedictorian scholarship from NW-SCC, which covers the full cost of tuition. But although Goines knows where she will be going to school next, she admits she does not know what course of study she plans to take.
“Right now I’m undecided on what I want to go in to, but I know I’m going to go to Northwest for at least a year,” she said. “Hopefully while I’m there I’ll find something that I really love and I’ll pursue that.”
Whatever studies Goines decides to take up or whatever career path she ends up taking, Odom says she has no doubt that Goines will prosper.
“I don’t know what her future plans are, but she has the drive and the motivation to do whatever she wants,” Odom said. “She’s smart and mature beyond her years. I feel like she can accomplish anything she wants and be successful, no matter what she decides to do.”
Phil Campbell High School’s graduation is Thursday, May 25 at 7:00 p.m.
