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2 The Monroe County Reporter • May 23, 2018
Graduation
THE TOP OF THE CUSS
VALEDICTORIAN:
Madeline Copeland
SALUTATORIAN:
Lori Smith
Taking her talents to Atlanta
and the Rambling Wreck
ori Smith finished her high school ca
reer with the second-best grade point
average in her class, 4.5 on a scale of
14, making her the salutatorian of the
Mary Persons’ class of 2018.
“It’s really exciting,” said Smith, the daughter of
Keith Smith and Gina Smith.
Smith, whose favorite subjects are math and sci
ence, is headed to Georgia Tech, of course. She
said she didn’t think she would get in. But when
she did, she toured the campus and said she
really liked the feel of The Flats.
While her grades are terrific, Smith said
she doesn’t necessarily love going to
school and sitting in class, but she does
love learning new things. That’s one
reason she cited history teachers
David Meeks and Martin Magda
as two who had a big influence
on her. Even though history isn’t
her strong suit, Smith said Meeks
always made himself understand
able to her when she had him
in 10th grade. And he always
believed in her ability to succeed,
said Smith.
Smith had Magda this year and
said he was amazing. “He’s an
amazing teacher even if you don’t
know what he’s talking about,”
said Smith.
While she’s competitive. Smith
said she didn’t really focus on try
ing to chalk up the highest GPA.
Instead she just took the classes
she needed and wanted. She didn’t
know she had a chance to finish so
high in her class until her GPA was
high enough to get her selected to be
a marshal for last year’s graduation.
So what advice does she give younger
kids, including her many brothers and
sisters, who want to do well in school?
“Don’t push yourself too much,” said
Smith. “Just do what you think you can
and believe in yourself. If you think
you can, you will. If you don’t think
you can, you won’t.”
After college, Smith said she wants
to be a forensic scientist studying
blood spatter. She said she didn’t get
the idea watching the popular CSI
TV shows (she doesn’t watch) but
taking a forensics class at Mary
Persons.
While she did well in school,
Smith didn’t confine herself
to the classroom at MP,
playing leading roles on
the softball and soccer
teams. She said she plans
to continue sports activi
ties through intramurals at
Tech, and plans to branch out even to sports like ultimate frisbee. She said
she’ll also continue to participate in choir.
Smith said her sports endeavors at MP helped her make a lot of friends like
Kennedy Finch, Lexi Passmore and Maiah Wiley, friendships she won’t forget
when she goes to Atlanta.
Headed to Athens with the
best grades in her class
M adeline Copeland was named Mary Persons High School’s 2018
valedictorian on Friday for finishing with the top grade point
average, 4.67 on a scale of 4, in her class.
Copeland said she was excited when principal Dr.
Jim Finch told her the news.
“I always hoped for that,” said Copeland. “I defi
nitely worked hard for it.”
Copeland adds valedictorian to an already glowing
resume that includes the STAR student award for having
the top SAT score in her class. She’ll take that record of ac-
comphshment to UGA where she’ll already be a sophomore
thanks to four or five college credits from AP classes and
eight credits earned through the dual enrollment program.
Copeland said taking a law class with MP history teach
er Martin Magda inspired her to want to become a
lawyer, but she’ll major in accounting as a backup
plan just in case she sours on the law.
Magda told the Reporter that Copeland has
been a special student.
“In my eighteen years here at Mary
Persons, she is one of the most intense,
focused, and determined individuals that
it has been my privilege to teach,” said
Magda when asked to comment on
Copeland. “To say she is highly intel
ligent would be superfluous in any
description of Madeline. Her desire
for a sophisticated understanding of
everything has kept me endlessly im
pressed during the time I have gotten
to know her. Through her hard work
in and out of the classroom and her
good heart that she demonstrates
in her daily life, she has earned the
respect of her peers and the faculty at
MPHS, to say nothing of myself!”
Copeland is the daughter of Clay and
Charlotte Copeland of Forsyth. She has two
sisters, Gracie, who is a freshman at Mary
Persons, and Claire, a fifth grader at K.B. Sutton
Elementary. Her mother, who teaches fourth
grade, is the 2018 Teacher of the Year at K.B.
Sutton.
Copeland said choosing UGA came easy
since both her parents went there.
“My dream has always been to go to Georgia.
I loved the campus, the town, the school, every
thing about Georgia,” said Copeland. “I knew as
soon as I went that it was for me.”
Her 1410 SAT score has netted her the state’s
Zell Miller scholarship, which will pay regular
tuition at UGA as long as she maintains grades.
In addition to FBLA, Copeland is president of
student council, is active in Best Buddies Club and Rotary
Interact Club and is on the Mary Persons academic team.
She played tennis for Mary Persons all four years. And for
the last year she has worked in the retail store at Dickey
Farms in Musella, where she enjoys meeting and helping
customers and hearing plans for the Strawberry Patch.
One of her favorite community activities is work
ing with the Anchor of Hope Foundation in its Autism
Awareness Festival and Parents Night Out, a monthly
evening when volunteers provide activities for children
with developmental difficulties. She said she is usually
exhausted by the end of the evening.
“I always end up having fun,” she said. “It’s definitely worth it.”
She gives her father credit for teaching her how to balance clubs, tennis,
a job, community and family activities and studying. He taught her how to
prioritize and encouraged her to make lists of things she needed to do. Cope
land said she finds it satisfying to scratch completed items off her list. But she
added that she has to work hard even if she organizes well.
“I spend a lot of late nights and early mornings studying,” she said.
We are
so proud
of you!
We love you!
Mom, Dad, Austin and Aric
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