To boldly go

by

This year’s class of seniors at Homewood High School is “particularly bold, but also competitive,” said HHS social studies teacher and senior class sponsor Megan Cole.

“I feel like this class goes above and beyond in so many areas,” Cole said.

While final college decisions and average ACT scores were not yet available, HHS guidance counselor Elaine Meeks said the students walking across the stage May 22 include some academic standouts. The 2017 seniors include 10 National Merit Scholarship finalists and 39 eligible honor graduates, who are students with a 4.0 or higher GPA and three or more AP classes.

“Two thirds of the senior class has a 3.0 or higher [GPA], and many, many of those students are taking at least one AP class,” Meeks said. 

Cole said Homewood’s seniors also have shown athletic leadership, bringing home championships in multiple sports and in some cases going on to play at the collegiate level. Seniors have led honor societies and service organizations, such as the Key Club participating in its first ever Rise Against Hunger event this year, as well as student government and school spirit.

“We have so many exceptional seniors who have an impressive dedication to serve outside of the school,” Cole said.

Graduation is at Samford University’s Wright Center. Before they don their caps and gowns, meet a few members of the Homewood Class of 2017.

Millie Grace Malek

Major/College: Biology (planning for a future in the medical field), University of Kentucky. 

High school extracurriculars: senior class president, Star Spangled Girls, Peer Helpers, Key Club 

Favorite high school memory: “I loved having the opportunity to spend my high school experience with people I have known all my life. While I don’t have a favorite specific memory, the ones I treasure the most are the ones when I am with my friends!” 

Proudest accomplishment: “I am proudest of the study habits I have learned and the time management skills I have gained while balancing AP classes with extracurriculars.”

What will you miss most: “The thing I will miss the most is performing on Friday night football games with the Star Spangled Girls and the Homewood Patriot Marching Band. I made a wonderful group of friends through Star Spangled Girls and am going to miss the practices, the performances, and the amazing trips with them!”

What you’re looking forward to: “I am looking forward to meeting new people and having the opportunity to be independent as I start this new chapter in my life.”

Evan Myers

Major/College: Spanish or political science, most likely Furman University

High school extracurriculars: Relay for Life, varsity soccer, Key Club, Patriot Pride, Peer Helpers, president of Spanish club, Trinity UMC youth group

Favorite high school memory:

“I got to speak at a big conference with my youth group for church, in front of a bunch of people, and I really enjoyed that.”

Proudest accomplishment:

“Making the soccer team. I didn’t make the varsity team until my senior year. I’ve always played soccer my whole life and a lot of my friends made the varsity team before I did. When I made it this year, I was really happy about that.”

What you’re looking forward to:

“Having time to be able to do things that I really am interested in and exploring my own identity a little bit more.”

Shelby Hardy

Major/college: Pharmacy, Hampton University

High school extracurriculars: Girls basketball team

Favorite high school memory: “Winning the [state basketball] championship!”

Proudest accomplishment: “Being able to handle the rigorous workload coming from another school system successfully.” 

What you will miss about high school: “I will miss the family environment that is at Homewood! As a class, everyone speaks to each other and mostly knows everyone by name. Homewood feels like home!” 

What you’re looking forward to: “I’m looking forward to graduating from Hampton with my Pharm.D. degree, as well as being a successful student athlete.”

Hazl Torres

Major/College: Chemical engineering, Auburn University

High school extracurriculars: Band, math team, Peer Helpers, Key Club

Favorite high school memory: “My favorite high school memory was the band trip to the California Rose Parade in ninth grade. I have never been to California, and it was so much fun to be able to experience a new place with familiar people. Also, because I was a freshman, that band trip helped me get to know older band members as well as become closer friends to people.”

Proudest accomplishment: National Merit Finalist

What you will miss about high school: “I will definitely miss seeing my friends. We have seen one another almost every day for years, and it’s a little strange to think how far apart we’ll be when we are attending different colleges.”

What you’re looking forward to: “I am looking forward to the opportunity to try new things and make new friends. College gives us the opportunity to grow and figure out what and who we want to be in the not so distant future.”

Ann Gartman

Major/college: Elementary education and Spanish, Mississippi State University 

High school extracurriculars: Cheerleading, band, National Honor Society, Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta math honor society

Favorite high school memory: “My favorite high school memory was at cheerleading camp in Gulf Shores two years ago. The parents and coaches assured the many squads there that it would not rain. Once we had left the condo and gotten to the UCA camp location, we were informed the weather was going to get very dangerous. Before our mother chaperones could pick us up to bring us back to our condo (or anywhere safer) a downpour started. I remember sprinting back to the condo when it was pouring down rain, battling a strong wind and not being able to see a thing from all of the water.”

Proudest Accomplishment: “When I was chosen to participate in the Alabama Girls State, I was selected as Speaker of the House, and got to mandate an argument in Montgomery between other Girls State delegates.”

What I will miss about high school: “I am going to miss coming home to all of my siblings at 3 every afternoon. My little brother’s name is Gage, and he is 2 years old. My little sister’s name is Evie, and she is 4 years old. My other little brother’s name is R.C., and he is 10 years old. I will miss playing Barbies every day, watching “Ice Age” every day and listening to comments about the Percy Jackson [book] series.”

Allysa Rapadas

Major/College: Biology, undecided

High school extracurriculars: Marching band, Key Club, Patriot Pride Ambassadors, Youth Leadership Forum of Birmingham, Youth Serve Youth Philanthropy Council, Firehouse Shelter internship

Favorite high school memory: “My favorite high school memory is probably the Rose Parade that I was fortunate enough to partake in as a freshman. This is where I truly saw the tradition and strong leadership that took place in the band and in Homewood in general. I can remember marching for hours at Pasadena and turning the final corner and seeing the mountains. And I can remember me as a freshman, in awe and, as cheesy as it sounds, truly content because all of our repetitive practices and challenges that came along with the trip became worth it.”

 What you will miss most about high school: “The comfort that I have developed through these past four years. I will miss the daily routine of starting my day playing my saxophone and just the knowledge of knowing who your peers are, because they have been people that we have spent the most time with.” 

What you’re looking forward to: “I am looking forward to the new opportunities that college and a new environment will have to offer. Homewood and Birmingham are brimming with opportunities, and so the challenge of seeking those opportunities in a new environment with new peers, professors, employers will be what I am most excited about. I believe that this is what I am looking the most forward to because of my internship at the Firehouse Shelter. I have been able to meet individuals from differing stages of life, and I got to partake in events that have always occurred in Birmingham and that concentrated on the homelessness population, but I never knew existed.”

Elijah Bouma-Sims

Major/College: Electrical engineering and history, North Carolina State

High school extracurriculars: Samford Music Academy piano student, BEST Robotics Team, Marching Band, Chamber Winds ensemble, Jazz Band, Troop 95 Eagle Scout, Beta Club, math team

Favorite high school memory: “Freshman year, when the band marched in the Rose Parade. As a 14-year-old, I flew cross-country to Pasadena, California, with 400 of my friends and classmates and had an amazing time. We went to Disneyland, California Adventure and Knott’s Berry Farm. My best memory from that trip, however, is turning the corner at the start of the parade and just seeing a wall of people and cameras. At that moment, it finally sunk in how big of a deal the parade was, and I almost went lightheaded.”

What you will miss about high school: “Definitely the people. There are a lot of friends and teachers who I love, people who have stood up for me and helped me when I’ve needed it. I’ll find a new safety net in college, but it’s hard to leave so many people behind.”

Louis Fort

Major/College: Photography, Columbia College

High school extracurriculars: The Network show choir

Favorite high school memory: “The senior mom dance! That’s a great memory. I was kind of surprised my mom did it.” 

Proudest accomplishment: “My proudest accomplishment is becoming dance captain for The Network show choir. Sounds small but I have always wanted to be a dance captain for this group since I was in seventh grade and saw them perform. When I first got this leadership role I was so excited, but found out it wasn’t as easy as I thought. We lost a lot of guys and had a lot of new guys that didn’t know what show choir really was. They went from being a group of guys who didn’t know how to step touch, to the cleanest group of guy dancers I have seen in a long time.”

What you will miss about high school: “Show choir is something that allows me to escape to a place that brings me so much joy. I love to sing, dance, entertain; show choir let me do all those things. I originally took it for granted but soon realized it opened so many doors to work with other people and created so many friendships. It allowed me to come out of my shell and thrive as much as I could possibly thrive in high school. I was able to find ‘my place.’”

Dina Zaher

Major/College: Global studies and French, University of Chicago 

High school extracurriculars: Miss Heritage, Debate Club, girls varsity tennis team, Star Spangled Girls dance line, Writing Center tutor, Patriot Pride Ambassador

Favorite high school memory: “Looking back on the past year, winning the Miss Heritage pageant was my favorite memory from high school. I had entered the pageant for fun, almost as a last ‘hoorah’ for senior year, and I loved every moment of it.” 

Proudest accomplishment: “Making the Star Spangled Girls dance line was one of my proudest moments at Homewood! I had to learn how to do the splits for tryouts, which was uncharted territory for me at the time, because I could barely touch my toes before that.”

What I’m looking forward to: “I cannot wait to experience a true Chicago winter because I have yet to play in real snow — the kind that requires a snow plow! Although I love the warm Alabama weather, Chicago’s climate will be a new and exciting aspect of my life next year.”