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THURSDAY. MAY 13. 2021 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3B
Interviews with the STARs of Pickens High
Amberley Clark
2021 STAR Student
Finalist
Amberley is the daughter of
Jacob and Jennifer Clark.
She has one sister, Kaylee
Clark.
Briefly describe your
plans after high school
graduation.
I plan to go to a good lib
eral arts college and explore
as many of my intellectual
interest as I can.
What were your reasons
for selecting your STAR
Teacher?
When Mrs. Harbin be
came the theatre teacher in
my junior year, she brought
fresh ideas, incredible pas
sion, and expectations that I
couldn’t help but live up to.
I had fallen into a sort of rut
in the theatre community,
and school in general. I had
a reputation for sitting in
corners and keep to myself,
but from the first time
speaking to Mrs. Harbin, I
realized she didn’t just ex
pect me to do will, she knew
I could. She fostered such
an environment of unity and
dedication among me and
my friends, pushing us to
achieve more than we ever
imagined. She’s taught me
that big dreams are the first
step to big achievements
and ensured I will give my
all in everything I do from
here on out.
What advice would you
give to a rising freshman
at PHS?
Be brave, high school
can be a scary place and the
next four year are probably
going to be terrifying and
confusing and wrought with
emotional upheaval. But
they can also be wonderful
and exhilarating. Reach out
to people. Try new things.
Explore new passions, new
ideas, new labels for your
self until you find some
thing that fits. This is the
time for you to make mis
takes. This is the time for
you to grow. You will be
afraid of being wrong, terri
fied of being vulnerable, but
be brave.
What is your most memo
rable educational experi
ence in school?
(Kindergarten to present)
I took dramatic writing
with Mrs. Boehm last year
and we had many work
shopping days filled with
constructive criticism, class
discussions about books and
literature, and class debates
on a variety of topics. It was
amazing how much you
could learn from your peers
and how much you could
grow from sharing your
own ideas. There were stu
dents in that class that I had
never met before, students
who had different friend
groups, political opinions,
passions and outlooks than
me, that I could find com
mon ground with - or at
least have a respectful intel
lectual discussion with. I
think knowing how to listen,
consider, and communicate
is the most important skill a
person can have.
Sara Harbin
2021 STAR Teacher
Finalist
Briefly describe your
STAR Student.
Amberly is incredibly
brilliant and insanely tal
ented. She shines at every
thing she does. She is an old
soul, an introvert, and a
beautiful person inside and
out.
What do you consider the
most important element of
a successful teaching pro
gram?
A training program that
teaches educators to be
more flexible. That is very
important.
What advice would you
give our STAR Students as
they prepare to leave high
school?
Do not fear the un
known. Embrace it as just
another step in your journey.
Where you end up is great
but getting there is half the
fun! When life gives you
opportunities, take them.
You never know who or
what is at the end of them!
Mrs. Harbin has been
teaching for 15 years - two
at PHS. She currently
teaches Drama Theatre. She
is married to Patrick
Harbin.
Rose Finney
2021 STAR Student
Finalist
Rose is the daughter of Phil
and Wendy Finney. She has
one sister, Nora Finney.
Briefly describe your
plans after high school
graduation.
I plan to attend the Uni
versity of North Georgia in
the fall.
What were your reasons
for selecting your STAR
Teacher?
Mr. Nix’s classes were
always interesting and he
encouraged us to do our
best. He would always
make the material interest
ing and I have so many
memories from his classes.
What advice would you
give to a rising freshman
at PHS?
Don't stress out about it
too much, and don't bite off
more than you can chew.
We're all human and we all
have our limits.
What is your most memo
rable educational experi
ence in school? (Kinder
garten to present)
In fifth grade we went to
the courthouse and had a
whole trial over a bag of
Doritos. The teacher took
the chips from one kid, and
he was upset because he felt
it violated his 4th amend
ment rights, so he talked to
a local judge and we had a
trial. The whole grade got
involved as lawyers, wit
nesses, jury members, etc. It
was a really unique experi
ence and it's stuck with me
to this day.
Wil Nix
2021 STAR Teacher
Finalist
Briefly describe your
STAR Student.
Ms. Finney is an ex
tremely talented and eccen
tric young woman. I have
had the pleasure of having
Ms. Finney in four classes
and one was our first Ad
vanced Honors Literature
class. Her excitement for the
material is almost over
whelming. She brings her
own brand to everything she
does and I am so proud of
her accomplishments. Ms.
Finney will bring a kindness
and uniqueness to anything
she will attempt and I hope
to be a part of her future
success.
What do you consider the
most important element of
a successful teaching pro
gram?
Empathy. Knowing what
someone may be going
through and having enough
heart to realize that while
we may be a brief moment
in their life, we can change
the world through them.
What advice would you
give our STAR Students as
they prepare to leave high
school?
Admit to yourself that
you do not know. It is okay
to wonder and learn and
find your fit in the world.
Go out and "do" and make
sure you know we all will
be here when or if you need.
Mr. Nix has been teaching
for 16 years and currently
teaches Computer Science
and English at PHS. He is
married to Laura Nix.
Michayla Pickett
2021 STAR Student
Finalist
Michayla is the daughter of
Joyce Reynolds and Joan
Reynolds. She has one sis
ter, Michelle Pickett.
Briefly describe your
plans after high school
graduation.
My plans after high
school are to attend the Uni
versity of Georgia. My cho
sen major is Biology.
What were your reasons
for selecting your STAR
Teacher?
I chose Mr. Cheatham to
be my STAR Teacher be
cause he truly cares about
his students. Mr. Cheatham
is one of the most support
ive teachers and does any
thing he can for a student to
do their very best in his
classroom.
What one piece of advice
would you give to a rising
freshman at PHS?
The best advice for rising
freshmen would be to
choose your classes wisely.
There is a limited number of
classes you can have per
year, so planning accord
ingly for your future will be
necessary.
What is your most memo
rable educational experi
ence in school?
(Kindergarten to present)
My most memorable ed
ucational experience in
school would be creating
Rube Golberg machines in
8th grade science when we
were learning about the dif
ferent types of simple ma
chines such as levers,
ramps, pulleys, etc. We
spent a week with a partner
planning and building the
machine to do a certain task.
My task was to fill a bowl
with cat food.
Robbie Cheatham
2021 STAR Teacher
Finalist
Briefly describe your
STAR Student.
I’ve been teaching and
coaching for 28 years. I
have developed a sixth
sense about people.
Michayla is a very special
young lady. Not only does
she have a very sharp mind,
she has a great personality.
She is a very hard worker.
She can be serious when cir
cumstances call for it and
she also has a great sense of
humor. I have no doubt that
Michayla will be a great
success in her future en
deavors.
What do you consider the
most important element of
a successful teaching pro
gram?
Young students need
structure. But most impor
tantly they need to know
that you care about them.
You have to find a way to
push them and at the same
time, nurture them.
What advice would you
give our STAR Students as
they prepare to leave high
school?
Be loyal to those that re
ally love you. Give 100% in
everything you do. Trust in
the Lord God with all your
heart, mind and strength.
Mr. Cheatham has been
teaching for 28 years, all at
PHS. He currently teaches
Honors World History/AP
European History. He is
married to Beth History.
Michelle Pickett
2021 STAR Student
Finalist
Michelle is the daughter of
Joyce Reynolds and Joan
Reynolds. She has one sis
ter, Michayla Pickett,
Briefly describe your
plans after high school
graduation.
I am going to attend
UGA to pursue a degree in
math education.
What were your reasons
for selecting your STAR
Teacher?
I chose Dr. Daymude to
be my STAR teacher be
cause she has inspired me to
become a high school math
teacher. Dr. Daymude has
one of the most upbeat and
encouraging personalities,
which she brought into the
classroom every day. She al
ways made sure I was never
too behind when I had to
miss class and gave me the
support I needed to succeed.
Dr. Daymude shares her
love of math and her stu
dents anytime she can, and I
loved taking her classes.
What advice would you
give to a rising freshman
at PHS?
The advice I would give
to a rising freshman at PHS
would be to challenge your
self because you are always
capable of more than you
think.
What is your most memo
rable educational experi
ence in school?
(Kindergarten to present)
My most memorable ed
ucational experience was in
Mrs. Wilson's class in 7th
grade. Our assignment was
to calculate how many rub
ber bands tied together were
needed to bungee a barbie
off the stairs on the stage.
We had to get the barbie as
close to the ground as we
could without the doll hit
ting the floor.
Dr. Kathy Daymude
2021 STAR Teacher
Finalist
Briefly describe your
STAR Student.
I met Michelle when she
was in my Honors Pre-Cal
culus class last year. She im
pressed me right away with
her dynamic class participa
tion, thoughtful questions,
and superior scores on as
sessments. She dazzled us
with her novel solutions to
mathematical problems and
finished with a rare natural
100 for the semester. She
went on to be a superstar in
AP Calculus this year.
Michelle is a natural
leader who is intrinsically
motivated and works well
with everyone. She sets a
fine example for her col
leagues and leads in a
proactive and caring way.
She is so well respected by
her classmates that she is
highly sought after for extra
help and happily offers as
sistance and advice. She is
creative in her explanations
and can approach solutions
in multiple ways to be sure
people understand.
But classroom activities
are not what impressed me
most about Michelle. She
represented our school in
many extra-curricular math
ematical competitions. She
boldly went where I’d never
seen other students go be
fore. For example, Michelle
can calculate fractions and
decimals in bases other than
10.1 had never even thought
of trying that.
And that is not all.
Michelle accomplishes aca
demic excellence in spite of
auto-immune medical chal
lenges that require her to
miss school for infusions.
She not only endures these
and makes up any work she
misses, but she has also
been a valuable asset to our
swim and volleyball teams
when her health permitted.
Michelle accomplishes so
much with resilience,
aplomb, and a contagious
positive attitude.
What do you consider the
most important element of
a successful teaching pro
gram?
I think passion is critical:
passion for our students,
passion for the subject, and
a general passion for life
long learning.
What advice would you
give our STAR Students as
they prepare to leave high
school?
Learn as much as you
can, and have fun doing it.
Keep doing that. Then
come back and tell us how
you're doing. We'll miss
you!
Dr. Daymude has been
teaching for 26 years. She
currently teaches Honors
Calculus at PHS. She is
married to Tom Daymude.