By Shirley Shuman
Following in her grandmother’s footsteps, Kaleigh Mays, eighth in her graduating class, plans a career in nursing. The daughter of Tabitha and Daniel Mays explained, “My grandma was a nurse for years, and I’ve always wanted to do what she did.” Mays plans to enroll in Marshall to obtain her nursing degree.
Not surprisingly, she named health-occupation classes as her favorite and Mrs. Brooks as her favorite teacher. “She has a passion for helping her students. She will go out of her way to help you with your problems if it’s one related to health or medical science or something else,” Mays explained.
Her activities at school reflect, in part, her interest in health-related subjects but also show a range of interests. Mays belongs to HOSA and has been a four-year member of HISTA. Currently she is the only senior in Braxton’s HISTA group. Still in the academic range, she belongs to the local chapter of National Honor Society. Mays also played soccer for two years and is currently in her fourth year of playing softball. In still another area, the senior has also played clarinet in the BCHS band for four years.
Outside of academics and her extracurricular activities , Mays manages an outside job. “I’ve had a parttime job since I was 16,” she noted. She also volunteers with various youth sports, and she crochets.
Her response to what has affected her high school education the most differed in part from what many say. To begin, she did point out a negative effect of the pandemic on students, saying, “It started our freshman year so we missed the full high school experience.” However, she added a positive effect, “It also taught us to hold those close to us even closer, and it also taught us to appreciate the little things in life,” she said.
Although she didn’t actually experience an in-school freshman year, Mays was willing to offer advice to incoming freshmen. She said simply, “Don’t try to be somebody you’re not; take time to be comfortable in yourself and be who you are.”
