Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Honors 11 Seniors

CARROLL COUNTY — Eleven high school seniors from Carroll County were recognized by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce for their academic excellence by scoring a 29 or better on the national ACT test. The Carroll County Chamber hosted a luncheon on April 15 at Mallard’s Restaurant to honor the students.

“These students are in the top nine percent in the nation of all the students who took the ACT exam,” said Brad Hurley, Chamber President. “Their academic excellence is exemplary, and the expectations for these young women and men are extremely high.” Bella Amold, Olivia Arnold, Chandler Conrad, Skyelor DeLoach, Ava Flippin, Allison Mansfield, Paridhi Patel, Abby Quinn, Casey Walker, Ava Mae Warman and William Woods make up the twelfth group of students to be selected for the Chamber’s ACT Wall of Honor. The Wall was created in 2013, and a total of 151 students have been recognized by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce for their academic achievement.

“The Chamber’s board and its membership are proud of these young women and men for striving to attain excellence,” said Cliff Sturdivant, board chairman of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce. “These students have set high standards for themselves, and we know that, by keeping their standards high, they will be successful in every endeavor they undertake.”

American College Testing (ACT) is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admission. This 60-year-old test consists of four concentrations: English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning, with an optional writing component. The main four tests are scored individually on a scale of 1 to 36, and a composite score is provided, which is the whole number average of the four scores. “By recognizing these outstanding students, the Chamber acknowledges the great job our school teachers, administration, and staff are doing every day in our schools,” said Brad Hurley, President of the Carroll County Chamber. “We know they are positively impacting the lives of our young people.” The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1981 for the purpose of advancing the commercial, industrial, civic and general interests of the County of Carroll and its trade area.

The volunteer food servers were Brian Winston, Andrew Maddox and Jacob Smothers.

Bella Arnold of McKenzie plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology or forensic science. Her goal is to become a forensic biologist or a forensic scientist. She is a member of the National Beta Club and participated in Project Graduation’s Great Pretender performance. She was named to Who’s Who in Honors English II. She was also a four-year Honors Banquet attendee.

Olivia Arnold of West Carroll plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Martin. Having received inspiration from her high school band director, she plans to major in Music Education in hopes of inspiring others. Olivia is a member of the National Beta Club and her school’s marching band. She is a two-time state champion drum major and a two-time member of the UTM honor band. She is a graduate of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce’s Youth Leadership program. She has also received the Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

Chandler Conrad of McKenzie will be attending Murray State University after high school. He will be majoring in physics, which is a subject he enjoys. Chandler is a member of the yearbook staff at his school. He was the recipient of the Who’s Who award for pre-calculus, as well as for geometry. Chandler has an avid interest in science and also plays the guitar.

Skyelor Grace DeLoach of McKenzie plans to attend Vanderbilt University with a major in computer science. She chose computer science because she enjoys solving problems and because tech is the fastest growing industry and will continue to be for more years. Skyelor is the founder and president of Interact, which is Youth Rotary, and a four-year cheerleader at her school. She received the Rotary Youth Leadership Award and is a graduate of the Carroll County Chamber’s Youth Leadership program. Skyelor currently works at Hometown Hangout and McKenzie Nutrition. She previously worked at Chic-fil-A.

Ava Flippin of Huntingdon will pursue a four-year degree in software engineering at Florida Polytechnic University. Software engineering is a career she has had planned for herself since the third grade. In high school she enjoyed visual arts and traveling. She was awarded an Academic Letter of Achievement and was also a Commonwealth Honor recipient. Ava has worked at the Paris Wheels Skating Rink for one year and two months. In the future, Ava plans to travel the world in her career and eventually settle down in Svalbard, Norway. Ladies and gentlemen, Ava was unable to attend the luncheon because she was on a field trip for gifted students.

Allison Mansfield of McKenzie plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She will major in biology in hopes of attending physician’s assistant school after her undergraduate degree. Allison was the girls’ basketball team manager for three years, two of those years for state champions. During each year of high school, she performed twenty-plus hours of community service. Allison is a four-year attendee of the Honors Banquet and a graduate of the Carroll County Chamber’s Youth Leadership program. She has worked at Hometown Hangout for almost a year and a half.

Paridhi Patel of Huntingdon was unable to attend because she was visiting Yale University. She is an early high school graduate, having earned her diploma in December. She plans to complete a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering to gain knowledge and experience for medical school to become an oncologist. Her top extracurricular activities were AB Club and HOSA. She received the AP Scholar Award by the College Board. She has worked at Subway.

Abby Quinn of Hollow Rock-Bruceton plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She has an interest in interior design and architecture and has chosen Interior Architecture as her major. In high school, Abby enjoyed being a member of both the National Beta Club and Future Business Leaders of America. She received second place Beta drawing award at convention and is a recipient of the Distinguished Tennessean Scholarship Award from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Abby is also a graduate of the Carroll County Chamber’s Youth Leadership program. Abby has worked at Block City Pizza for a year and a half.

Casey Walker of Hollow Rock-Bruceton plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Martin. His major will be environmental science, an area that is of interest to him. In high school he was a member of the National Beta Club and the History Club. In his junior year he placed third in the Beta state science test; in his senior year he achieved first place. Casey has worked at the Sonic Drive-In in Camden for about two months.

Ava Mae Warman of McKenzie plans to attend the University of the South at Sewanee and study pre-med. She chose pre-med because of her strong interest in biology and the desire to go into health care. Ava Mae enjoyed cheerleading in high school and received the Best Overall Cheer Award. She is a member of the National Beta Club and is a four-year honors student. An interesting fact about Ava Mae is that she is an art lover and has owned a small art business for the past six to seven years. In her spare time, she likes to be outside with her dog.

Will Woods of Clarksburg plans to attend UT Martin then enroll in law school with the goal of becoming a lawyer. His major will be political science. He is a member of the National Beta Club and the yearbook staff. He was a Boys’ State delegate and he qualified to attend the National Beta Convention. Will works with his father in tax work and data entry.

Will was born on Leap Day, February 29, 2008 and was born with only one kidney.