Greenwood Community High School’s top two graduates worked their way to the top by excelling in academics, and by shining in extracurriculars and sports.
Well-rounded hard workerÂ
Carter Reynolds, this year’s valedictorian, achieved a 4.7 GPA. Reynolds’s academics were top priority during his high school career, and he filled his schedule each year with Advanced Placement and dual-credit classes.
He also ran cross country and track, which fostered some of his favorite high school memories, he said.
He is president of National Honor Society, Student Council and the math academic team.
Outside school, he volunteers with a youth program at Berean Baptist Church in Greenwood a couple times a week.
“There’s been a lot of encouragement in all my other activities to apply that to school. It’s just helped me become more well-rounded as a student and as a person,” Reynolds said.
He plans to attend the University of Alabama in the fall to study chemical engineering. He won a National Merit Scholarship for achieving a top score on the PSAT that will cover his full tuition and room and board for four years.
After college, Reynolds is not sure exactly what he wants to do for a career, but he knows he wants do something that involves designing machinery.
“I’ve always really liked science and designing things, and I had a passion for chemistry, so I figured I’d put the two together,” Reynolds said.
Balancing a strong academic career with involvement in sports and activities can be difficult, but Reynolds always tried to make the most of his time, doing school work when he had breaks between activities, he said.
“I have to use whatever free time I can find during the day to work on my academics. Like if I get an hour between youth group and sports. I’ll use that to work on my homework,” Reynolds said.
He looks forward to taking some time to relax, take trips with friends and enjoy his achievements this summer before heading off to college.
“I’m most looking forward to the chance to just sit back and take a breath after all the hard work I’ve done,” Reynolds said.
All-around all-star
Collin Campbell, Greenwood’s salutatorian, is headed to Ball State University in the fall to study actuarial science.
“I like math. I’ve always been really good at math. I’ve talked to some actuaries, and it just seems interesting to me,” Campbell said.
He achieved a 4.6 GPA, and he also filled his schedule with AP and dual-credit classes. He too is involved in National Honor Society and Student Council, and he is senior class president.
“I’ve always tried to stay involved. But school has always come first, and the time management and the work I’ve put into all of my classes has paid off,” Campbell said.
His main passion in high school was football. He played center on the high school’s football team, coached by his dad, Mike. And he was good at it too, he said, being named an all-state and all-county athlete. He made the Colts 2020 All-Star Academic Team last year.
“Definitely football was my favorite part of high school. You know, playing for my dad was a lot of fun,” Campbell said.
He most looks forward to new experiences in college.
“College, it’ll be fun. It’ll be a new experience. I look forward to learning a lot more complicated math and just becoming a smarter person,” Campbell said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Reynolds File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Carter Reynolds
School: Greenwood Community High School
Class ranking: Valedictorian
Age: 17
Parents: Crystal and Tony Reynolds
College plans: Major in chemical engineering at University of Alabama
Career goal: To design machinery
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Campbell File” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Collin Campbell
School: Greenwood Community High School
Class ranking: Salutatorian
Age: 18
Parents: Andi and Mike Campbell
College plans: Major in actuarial science at Ball State University
Career goal: Actuary
[sc:pullout-text-end]
