KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

The Tullahoma High School Class of 2025 will be led by this year’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian Parker Campbell and Seth Vaughn, respectively.

Both young men knew it was going to be a tight race between the two of them when it came to GPAs, so when they learned of the grades, both said they were proud of the honor of being the top two of their class.

“I’m pretty proud of the position that I got,” Seth said. “It’s a great honor to be there, just to be able to represent my class in that way.”

“I’m super honored,” Parker said. “I’m truly honored to be there.”

The News had the chance to speak to Seth and Parker about their fondest memories at the high school, what after graduation is looking like and who made the biggest impact during their time in school. 

Salutatorian

When it came to some of his fondest memories, Seth thought back to class activities like his science class going outside to study the different types of plants and organisms, and his history class conducting a mock trial. As for outside the classroom, Seth talked highly of participating with the school’s eSports team and the math team.

“Loved going to those competitions,” Seth reflected. “Just putting it to it, seeing how well we could do with that.”

As for what’s the plan after graduation, Seth said he is planning on attending the University of Alabama in Huntsville to major in Aerospace Engineering. Seth admitted he struggled to find a career path as he would learn a new skill that could be a career path.

“It made it hard to narrow it down, but then I really looked down into what I could do with my skills,” Seth said. “(Aerospace Engineering) is a good field, it’s stable and it’s pretty interesting.”

He added he’s looking at the management side of Aerospace Engineering as a career, so much so he has considered double majoring in business management.

As for a lesson he’s learned that he’ll take with him, Seth said it is whenever something goes wrong, it is better to take a step back and try to figure out the can or cannot be done.

“Early on there was an issue with a class and I got really stressed out about it because I was worried that I’m not gonna have any free time. This class is gonna be too much,” Seth said. “And taking a step back, if I had just looked at it in the first place and gone, ‘you know what, it’s okay. I’ll work on it, I’ll get it fixed and it’ll be okay,’ then I could have avoided a lot of stress.”

As for who he wanted to thank, Seth praised his parents for encouraging him to keep doing his thing and to keep moving forward.

“They’ve been big inspirations, especially because my mom and my dad, they’re both the first in their family to graduate from college.”

Seth also thanked his 8^th grade math teacher Trent Stout for establishing his study and work habits, as well as what to expect from teachers in higher math courses. He also thanked his teacher Melissa Tinnel for always being encouraging and ready to help.

“She was always there to encourage me,” Seth said. 

Valedictorian

For what have been some of his fondest memories, Parker said his involvement in student government has been the most fun, as well as solving hard math equations in his math classes alongside his friends.

“Being able to plan things for the school, interact with student government and lead,” Parker said. “That’s been super fun for me.”

Parker has been involved with student government for all four years of high school, and got involved thanks to his world history teacher Ms. Sisk.

“I was really hesitant at first,” Parker recalled. “She kind of pushed me into it and just told me to give it a try.”

Parker added he knew he had to step out his comfort zone to run for office, which he ended up as the president of his class for three years before becoming the student body president.

Besides being involved in student government, Parker was involved with the math team, played on both golf and soccer teams and was part of the NHS and DECA. There was another club that he founded a finance and finance literary. According to Parker, the club was about finance and teaching financial literacy, and formed in his sophomore year from an idea from his parents and uncle, who works as a financial advisor.

So, after talking with some of his friends about finance and investing, he formed the club with his friends and it grew to having 12 members, where they would go to Ms. Sisk’s class, which he said she provided for him, and they would talk, play games and learn about finance together.

“It’s really important to learn about investing now, investing early when you’re a kid so it’ll help you in later in life,” Parker said.

This interest in finance also has played a part in his next steps in his education. Parker said he will be attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he will be majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance. Parker said after college he wants to start up his own business where he can give back and help people.

As for after school, Parker said he’s been playing piano since he was a child, and has played for the residents at Morning Pointe Senior Living and the Young Artists Showcase. Another activity Parker has been a part of since seventh grade is racing dirt bikes.

“It’s really like one of the things that I can go to just relax, and get my mind off everything,” he said. “I’m really proud of it and it’s taught me a lot.”

As for what lesson he learned from his senior year, Parker said it was the importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone.

“I think stepping outside your comfort zone is just so crucial for success,” he said. “You’re initially like, ‘Oh, I don’t know, I’m worried what’s gonna happen? What are people gonna think?’ But then you do it and you’re so glad you did it because you find more things that you enjoy.”

For who he wanted to thank, Parker he thanked his parents for their help and support, and his grandfather as well, who even pushed him to be valedictorian.

“I was like, ‘Pops, I don’t know. It’s a lot of work.’ Once I accomplished it I was so thankful that he pushed me to that because it opened so many doors.”

As for teachers, Parker highlighted Ms. Sisk for all she had done to help from student government to providing a classroom for his club, but also spoke highly of all of his teachers he had throughout his school years.

“Every teacher I’ve had has worked so hard and has been such a great teacher, and I’ve gotten everything I needed from them,” Parker said. “I could not complain. I really mean that too.”