Photo by Lexi Coon.
Graduation day for the Class of 2018 last May. Mountain Brook High School college counselor Karen Svetlay said in lieu of naming valedictorians and salutatorians, MBHS names Honor Graduates, or those in the top 5 percent of their graduating class.
There’s a great amount of excellence in the Mountain Brook school system, in academics, in extracurricular activities and in athletics.
With graduation rounding the corner, it’s fitting that senior accomplishments are recognized more heavily, and one of the main ways to celebrate the academic achievements of the Class of 2019 is by naming Honor Graduates.
Mountain Brook High School college counselor Karen Svetlay said in lieu of naming valedictorians and salutatorians, MBHS names Honor Graduates, or those in the top 5 percent of their graduating class.
This year, there are 18 Honor Graduates:
► Anna Brooks Allen
► Julia Baddley
► Holly Brown
► George Davis
► Rachel Estreicher
► Edwin Fan
► Mary Margaret Freeland
► Ben Fu
► Emily Henderson
► Katelyn McInerney
► Margot Midkiff
► Kathryn Mussell
► Ella Nichols
► Alexa Rollow
► Zach Shunnarah
► Hannah Straughn
► Sarah Taylor
► Ann Wolter
Baddley said she wasn’t expecting to be named an Honor Graduate but was happy about it.
“It was really exciting. Looking back on the past four years at Mountain Brook, … it feels really great to accomplish that,” she said.
She, along with fellow graduates Mussell and Fan, were chosen by their peers to speak at graduation on May 21.
1 of 3
Julia Baddley
2 of 3
Edwin Fan
3 of 3
Kathryn Mussell
“I still don’t believe [that I’m graduating],” Mussell said. “It’s great. I’m really excited.”
“It’s honestly a lot to process,” Fan said of graduation. “The fact that my classmates thought that I would be best able to represent them at graduation really humbles me.”
To determine who is going to speak, all of the Honor Graduates got together and went through who would be willing to give a speech. From there, everyone wrote down three names of fellow Honor Graduates who they thought would represent them and their class well.
“It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m really excited to do it,” Baddley said.
She said she was “really shy” in ninth grade, but she has grown as a person and become more involved in MBHS. She was also a part of Alabama Girls State, a youth legislature program.
This fall, Baddley will be attending UNC Chapel Hill to study political science and eventually she wants to become a legislative representative.
During his time at MBHS, Fan was elected Student Government Association president. This past year in particular has brought its own evolution, he said.
“This year has definitely changed who I thought I was as a person since the beginning of the year,” he said. “I have not decided whether or not I want to jump straight into college or take a gap year instead.”
He said he is both nervous and excited about speaking at graduation, and he’s grateful for the opportunity to address his peers, family and the faculty.
Speaking at graduation holds a special meaning for Mussell, whose sister graduated from MBHS in 2012. Mussell said her sister was in the top of her class and was hoping to speak at graduation but was not among those chosen to do so.
“My sister, she really, really wanted to be able to give a speech,” she said. When Mussell told her sister she was speaking, she said her sister was excited for her and offered to help in whatever way she could.
“So I’m kind of doing it for her, and it means a lot. And my family’s really proud of me,” she said.
In the fall, Mussell will continue her educational journey at Auburn under full scholarship. She wants to pursue something in the medical field, she said, although is undecided if she wants to study veterinary or human medicine.
But before they turn their tassels, Baddley, Fan and Mussell will all be touching on a common theme for their speeches: change and the journey of growing up. Baddley said creating a theme helps tie the speeches together while giving each of them room for creativity and individuality.
Mussell said one focus is the graduating year and the last teenage year — both 19 — and the transition into adulthood.
“It’s very basic and vague because all three of us want to talk about something different, and we kind of want to give us the freedom to do that,” Mussell said.
And while they will be speaking in front of a large crowd and public speaking can be a nerve-wracking endeavor for most, Baddley, Fan and Mussell are looking forward to the opportunity to address family, friends and their fellow graduates.
“Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed just by the sheer amount of people that will be attending graduation, but I’m really glad I get this opportunity to hopefully say something profound about the graduating class of 2019,” Fan said.
