With a goal of giving back, Hemingway valedictorian takes full-ride to Claflin
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Posted By: Hija Chang on August 04, 2016 BY SHAMIRA McCRAY Morning News smccray@florencenews.com HEMINGWAY, S.C. – Makayla Faith Turner, Hemingway High School’s most recent valedictorian, said she simply wants to help others. After graduating at the top of her class, a spot she maintained since the 10th grade, Turner is on her way to Claflin University to pursue a biology degree. Becoming an obstetrician is her ultimate goal. “I feel like it would bring me joy to help heal people, just help people in some kind of way, any shape, form or fashion,” Turner said. Before she even graduated from high school, Turner had completed several college courses and had a few internships under her belt. Turner said she has shadowed a cardiologist before and heard stories of childbirth on separate occasions, each of which helped spark her interest in the medical field. “I’ve listened to different stories about childbirth, and I was like, that would be cool to give someone so much joy,” Turner said. “And I also like to make people laugh and stuff, so that would play a part in that as well.” Turner understands that in order to reach her goal of becoming an obstetrician, she must work hard. But that’s something she’s done all throughout school. Simply becoming valedictorian came with a price, Turner said. “It took a lot of hard work and determination. I had to make a lot of sacrifices,” Turner said. “Like wanting to go out all the time; sometimes you have to say no, because I have a test tomorrow, or I have an assignment to complete, things of that sort.” The advanced courses that she took in high school required a lot of studying, but she excelled. “In 10th grade, I was in Algebra 2 honors and English 3 honors. In 11th grade I was in pre-calculus and English 4, and I got the highest average in those,” Turner said. “But this year, I got the highest in AP calculus and AP biology.” Turner said along the way, she has had a few teachers that she has looked up to at school and ones that encouraged her not to worry when things got hard. “I had a few teachers that encouraged me and motivated me to keep going and not worry about what others have to say,” Turner said. Her parents, Carol and Tommy Turner, are proud of her. Turner is the first class valedictorian on either side of the family. “She strived and worked hard, and she really earned. She really earned it,” Carol Turner said. “There were some things in the middle school that I felt that her teachers cheated her out of, but at the end, I told her, just do your work. The teachers cannot take anything from you. You’ve got it up here in the head.” Turner has a full-ride to Claflin University in Orangeburg. She has other scholarships on top of that. When she heads to college this fall, Turner said what she’ll miss the most is the comfort of knowing what’s to come every day. “The class schedule (of high school) and the people, I guess basically being familiar,” Turner said. “You know, going to college is something foreign, it’s unpredictable. So that’s what I’ll miss the most.” If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Hija Chang
Management, See Moss Interactive Central State University class of 2021 Member Since January 2011 |
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