Brylee Deering named Valedictorian; Emma Christensen is Salutatorian
By Ginny Morris
Contributing Writer
PHS Class of 2025 Salutatorian Emma Christensen
Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, Emma Christensen is this year’s salutatorian with a GPA of 103.37. With humility and pride, she discusses her journey.
She moved to Pickens County in the third grade. She explains that Shreveport is one of the top 10 most dangerous cities and reflects on Jasper as a “really good place to grow up and figure myself out without having to worry about external conflict.”
Emma never met her dad’s parents but was always told she was just like them. Her grandma was either the valedictorian or salutatorian of her class.
“I’ve always known what it was,” Emma explains, who thought, “I could do that. I want to do that. I want to be like my grandma.”
Now that she is a salutatorian, Emma feels a little more connected to her grandma.
Emma discovered she was in the running for salutatorian her freshman year after she asked for a copy of her transcript just out of curiosity. That’s when she saw the number two and became fixated on keeping it there. Naturally, she began stacking her semesters with the hardest classes. Emma is motivated by success.
“I don’t mean that in a cocky way,” she elaborates, “But it’s good to be good at something and to have something to be proud of yourself for.”
Emma is certainly a successful young woman. Not only is she salutatorian, she is also class president and first chair clarinet.
She is involved in the math team, academic team, and Beta Club and is also the Homecoming princess.
Amidst her busy schedule, she has found time to hold various jobs at Dos Margaritas, Kroger, and Bell’s Pharmacy across her high school experience. When she is not studying, working, or doing extracurriculars, she enjoys crocheting and all things Taylor Swift.
As class president, Emma knew she would deliver a speech at graduation and has been thinking about it for a year already. In that speech, she intends to speak to some of the hardships her class and the generation in general have faced over the past few years. Now, she knows she has a second speech as well and intends to make that one more personal.
Emma has been accepted into the University of Georgia but hasn’t made a final decision yet. She is considering going out of state but is deciding what is in her best interests. She plans to major in neuroscience and attend med school for an MD.
To anyone in her shoes, Emma advises, “Karma is real. Life might seem unfair now, but if you stick to who you are, it’ll turn out the way it’s supposed to.”
Emma is the daughter of Genea Tatum and Casey Christensen.
PHS Class of 2025 Valedictorian Brylee Deering
“I’ve always loved being around people, but I hated being the center of attention,” says Brylee Deering, this year’s valedictorian. “As I got older, I started to realize it was a good thing.” With a GPA of 104.00, Brylee finds herself in the spotlight and discusses her unique position.
With both parents as teachers, Brylee changed schools a lot growing up, landing in the Pickens school system in 8th grade. It was there that she discovered she was in the running for number one after being invited to a dinner for having the highest GPA. She then stacked her semesters with the weighted classes as any prospective valedictorian or salutatorian would do to ensure her rank.
Brylee plays basketball, does cross country and track, and is headed to college for track at The Citadel. She is also involved in YoungLife and Wyldlife and enjoys encouraging younger kids to do their best. She is also a student section leader for basketball, and she is on the Homecoming Court even though she did not want to be, and would have preferred if other people got the chance to be on it. She did not mention this in her interview, but she was Miss PHS and involved in the math team and Beta Club.
She has also held various jobs throughout high school lifeguarding, babysitting, and coaching basketball for elementary girls, and was a referee this past basketball season for little kids.
Brylee clearly enjoys staying busy and claims to “perform better when stressed out.” When she is not studying, working, or participating in one of her many extracurriculars, she enjoys hanging out with her friends playing sports, shopping, or analyzing movies together. She also plays card games and, currently, those wooden games found at Cracker Barrel with her dad, who gives her life lessons such as navigating having an audience at a young age. Extroverted and curious, she loves to learn and can be found talking to new people or picking up a new hobby like magic or juggling.
Regarding her speech at graduation, Brylee feels pressured to somehow make it sound like her, but is certain once she sits down and writes it the words will be there. The speech symbolizes how “everything is actually coming to an end,” she explains. “I think it scares me.”
Despite her fears of growing up and of setting too high of standards for herself, Brylee is motivated by challenges. She will be attending the 84-percent male-dominated Citadel in Charleston, S.C. She chose a military school not only for her track scholarship but to push herself outside of her comfort zone, have a new experience, and learn more about herself.
“I’ve always wanted to lead people in some capacity,” she said.
Attending The Citadel will increase her leadership capabilities. She is uncertain what she wants to major in and is considering engineering. She isn’t planning on joining the military but is looking forward to the challenges a military school will bring.
For future valedictorians and salutatorians, Brylee advises, “Don’t forget you’re a kid.”
Brylee is the daughter of Kristin and Seth Deering.
