By Barry Wise Smith Photos by Jordan Wald
John Lee Wimberly
Vestavia Hills High School
How long have you been involved in choir, and what did winning the Alabama Vocal Association District III Outstanding Choral Student and Pat Blackwell Music Education Award mean to you?
I’ve been involved in choir throughout high school, but music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Choir has been where that passion has really taken shape, both musically and personally. Winning was incredibly meaningful to me because it felt like recognition not just of ability but of dedication to choir and to the people around me.
You are a National Merit Finalist, what are your plans after graduation, and what do you plan to focus on academically in college?
I plan to attend Auburn University with a double major in Electrical Engineering and Math and a minor in music. I also hope to stay involved in choir or an a cappella group, since that’s been such a defining part of my high school experience. Being named a National Merit Finalist represents years of curiosity and effort. It’s not just about a test score. It reflects the mindset I’ve lived by throughout my entire high school experience: wanting to learn, improve and push myself academically.
What do you do in your free time?
I spend a lot of time at the piano. It’s both a creative outlet and a way for me to relax. I also enjoy arranging music, which lets me combine music theory with creativity. Beyond music, I really value time with friends and family, whether that’s having meaningful conversations, going to events or just spending time together.
What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
I have perfect pitch, which means I can identify or recreate musical notes without a reference. It’s shaped the way I experience music. I often hear the world as if it has its own tonal structure.
Tina Gao
Vestavia Hills High School
You’re a member of the state champion debate/speech team. What’s your favorite debate topic, and what have you learned from debate?
My favorite topic was from Speech and Debate Nationals this summer—Will AI Intelligence Surpass Humans? In addition to public speaking, I learned to reason creatively, consider different perspectives and grasp complex topics quickly.
You are a National Merit Finalist, what are your plans after graduation, and what do you plan to focus on academically in college?
I plan to study math at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. My favorite classes in school are computer science and economics. In college, I want to focus on applied math. I am currently interested in the math behind machine learning and predictions.
What do you do in your free time?
I love exploring places, digital art, trying random things and enjoying all the internet has to offer.
What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
I once went viral on Instagram for a reel about AP Biology. The crazy thing was my roommate at math camp liked that reel before we knew each other.
What has been your favorite thing about your senior year?
Seeing all of my friends get into college and realizing that from now on, we are not just living to study but also studying to build a better life for ourselves and others.
Edie Herring
Homewood High School
You’ve been a part of Show Choir and performances during high school—tell us about that?
I’ve been involved in show choir since freshman year. My junior and senior years, I served as the Soprano 2 voice captain, and senior year, I also served as Co-president. I got involved in theater last year, playing Olive’s mom in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This past fall, I played Gertrude McFuzz in Suessical: The Musical. This past summer, I auditioned and was cast in a cabaret in NYC with On Stage Collective. After four days of rehearsals in the city, we performed at The Green Room 42 in Manhattan. I’ve also participated in cabarets with Homewood Theater and did The Little Mermaid with them my sophomore year. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. My parents tell the story of how they found me in my crib singing a song from The Little Mermaid before I could talk.
What are your plans after graduation?
I plan to attend Roosevelt University in Chicago to study musical theater. I would like to perform for as long as I can and then go back to school and get my master’s degree in music education so that one day I can be a show choir director.
What do you do in your free time?
I take voice from Marjorie Trimm and occasionally teach middle schoolers, and I love hanging out with my friends. I’m also very involved in the Element Student Ministry at Trinity United Methodist, and I sing in the Element Youth Band. I like spending my free time at church and volunteering at Element after school. I also love painting and drawing and making vocal arrangements.
What’s something people might be
surprised to know about you?
My family and I foster puppies for the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, so we always have dogs running around our house. We went to a puppy yoga class in downtown Birmingham and walked out with a new puppy! She’s a Nenets Herding Laika, and we named her Lola.
What has been your favorite thing about
your senior year?
It’s been a great chance for me to branch out and make new friends, and I’ve made my best friends in the process. Also, getting to travel with my family…this last year with them has been really special. I’ve been putting in a much bigger effort to live in the moment and try to enjoy the people around me, and that process has been so fun for me. And, at my last regular season show choir competition, I won the solo competition, which was super special since it was something I’d been working toward since seventh grade.
Seth Schnell
Homewood High School
You were a winner in the Congressional Art Contest—tell me about your winning artwork.
The artwork I submitted was from a picture I took of one my favorite basketball players, Russell Westbrook. I went to an Oklahoma City Thunder NBA game, and he was on the opposing team. Westbrook played for the Thunder for many years and is beloved by the fans, so when he received a standing ovation upon his entrance, I thought it would be a great moment to paint.
What are your plans after graduation, and what do you plan to study in college?
I plan to attend Savannah College of Art and Design, where I plan to study Advertising and Branding.
What do you do in your free time?
I draw, but recently I have started playing video games again, and I am always listening to music.
What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
I love to tell people about the time I took my driver’s license test and got hit by a truck carrying watermelons.
What has been your favorite thing about your senior year?
Going to Show Choir Nationals and marching in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.
Sam Eagan
Mountain Brook High School
You’re involved in theater and recently won first place for Duet Musical Comedic-Novice at the state competition. How long have you been involved in theater, and what drew you to it?
I started doing theater in the fourth grade through the Cherokee Bend Elementary drama club. Honestly, ever since I could speak, my mom had me in the church choir, and I think that experience sparked my love for performing and led me toward theater. My favorite part of performing is singing. While I love all styles, I especially enjoy singing songs from older musicals like West Side Story. I’m also involved in the a cappella group at school called ABOG.
What are your plans after graduation?
This summer, I’ll be performing at Carnegie Hall through my vocal coach Amy Murphy, and I’m going on a senior trip to Italy and Switzerland. I can’t wait to see the Alps! I’ll also be attending the Conference on National Affairs (CONA) for Youth Legislature to debate mock legislation with students from across the country. This fall, I’ll be attending the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
What are your favorite classes and what do you plan to focus on academically in college?
My favorite classes have been French and English. My French teacher Madame Sutherland is the reason I fell in love with French, and she’s kept me motivated to continue learning the language. And I’ve so enjoyed AP English Literature this year. Because of those experiences, I’m planning to major in either English or government with a minor in French at William & Mary.
What do you do in your free time?
I love trying out different coffee shops—Church Street Coffee is my absolute favorite! I also enjoy going on walks, listening to music, collecting vinyl, hanging out with friends, watching movies, reading and occasionally baking.
What has been your favorite thing about your senior year?
Seeing all of my friends decide where they are going to college. It’s surreal and amazing to see the people I’ve grown up with heading off to places where they will do great things.
Polly Albritton
Mountain Brook High School
You’re a Dorian at MBHS. How long have you been involved in dance, and what has being part of the team meant to you?
I love growing close to sweet friends and being challenged. Although I am a sibling to two brothers, Dorians has given me a group of sisters I can lean on and love on! Amidst the fun we have, we endure long hours of mental and physical demand. I am so thankful for girls alongside me through challenges, which have helped me become more confident when life gets difficult. Our success in competing has revealed to me that, though this is cliché, hard work pays off. If you put effort and time into something, the result can be very rewarding.
What are your plans after graduation?
I’m excited to attend Auburn University, major in nursing and minoring in Spanish! I may also minor in dance.
What do you do in your free time?
I’m a movie, shopping and coffee kind of girl! I enjoy walking around areas like Homewood and Pepper Place, and I also love grabbing a latte with a friend. Traveling to small towns holds a special place in my heart! Also, rewatching Disney movies or favorite shows is a way I love to relax.
What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
I love roller coasters! In Disney World, Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite, and I once rode Expedition Everest 27 times in one day!
Tyler Hohne
John Carroll Catholic High School
How long have you played baseball, and what has been part of a John Carroll team taught you? What else are you involved in?
I’ve played baseball since I was three. I now play travel baseball at a highly competitive level on one of the top teams in Alabama. The brotherhood of our baseball team is what I enjoy most and learning how to deal with failure, especially in baseball where you fail a lot, so it can really humble you. But that is where your teammates and brothers come in. They help you up when you fail knowing they always have your back when I strike out or do bad. I know I have eight other guys in the lineup lifting me up and cheering me on.
I am the senior class student president and the founder and president of the school’s DECA club. I started the club with a friend last year and grew the chapter to over 25 members and competed at the state level and qualified for the DECA ICDC competition—where you compete against students from across the world on the international stage—and helped five other members qualify for the ICDC conference too.
What are your plans after graduation?
I won the National Marine ROTC Scholarship and plan on attending Auburn next year in training to become an officer in the United States Marine Corps.
What do you do in your free time?
I enjoy going to church and attending the student ministry program at the Station church. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends, playing golf and pickleball. I also own my own window cleaning business and enjoy working and growing my business to be as big as possible.
What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
I saved up my own money from my business to pay to go to John Carroll to have the opportunity to play baseball at a higher level. With a single mom, it was hard. Thankfully the lord has blessed me at John Carroll and opened up many different opportunities. I wouldn’t change a thing.
What has been your favorite thing about your senior year?
Playing baseball with my friends and all the memories I have made this year. I enjoyed being a letterman and cheering on the football team this fall.
Johanna Curry
John Carroll Catholic High School
You received the prestigious Evans scholarship (one of only three in the state) for golf caddying. Tell me how you got involved in golf and being a caddy and about this scholarship.
I started caddying the summer of my freshman year of high school. I got accepted into a caddy program called Caddy Academy, where they flew me out to Illinois, and I caddied at a golf club there. Since then, I have gone back every summer to caddy and make new friends. Through Caddy Academy, I applied for the Evans this past year and used all of my experiences to get this amazing scholarship.
What are your plans after graduation?
I will be attending the University of Colorado Boulder with plans to become an orthodontist and open my own practice serving those with financial need.
What are your favorite classes?
I have struggled with academics in the past, but I realized how important my grades were in achieving my goals. This pushed me to try my hardest and make the best grades I could. My favorite classes are math and dual enrollment English, which allows me to have more creative freedom. In college I plan to major in biological sciences integrative physiology.
What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?
I didn’t know anything about golf or what a caddy was until I got to Illinois.
What has been your favorite thing about your senior year?
Hanging out with friends and family. This year I have tried to spend as much time as possible with them because I will be very far away for college.
Aubrey Sanders
The Altamont School
You play baseball at Altamont—how long have you played baseball, and what has being part of the team taught you?
I’ve played baseball at Altamont for six years. Being a part of the team has shown me what it means to “trust the process.” Over the past few years, our team has transformed into both a competitive program and a brotherhood, but it took a significant amount of work from every player to achieve that. I am extremely proud of the growth of this team, and it has been an experience that I would not trade for anything.
You received the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Program scholarship—what did it mean to you to receive that recognition?
To be recognized for my academic and athletic success was amazing, but it was especially meaningful to me as validation of the many extra hours of studying and practicing.
What are your plans after graduation, what are your favorite classes and what do you plan to study in college?
Despite my many STEM classes and extra-curriculars, my favorite classes at Altamont have been my senior English seminars. Altamont places a large emphasis on cultivating critical thinking, and it has been interesting to explore different ideas and experiences through the books we read. I will be playing baseball at Johns Hopkins University, and I plan to focus on biology, pursuing a career as an ophthalmologist.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy swimming and trying new restaurants. I also enjoy hanging out with my parents and my younger brother, Miles.
What has been your favorite thing about your senior year?
Reminiscing with my friends about our time at Altamont. It is unbelievable that high school is nearly over, but it has been nice to get closer with my classmates throughout this year.
Nandhani GuttI
The Altamont School
You scored a perfect 36 on your ACT and nearly perfect on the SAT. What did it mean to you to achieve such high scores?
Though arbitrary, that number serves as affirmation of all of my learning and dedication throughout the years. I’m proud that I was able to achieve this.
You attended Girl’s State and Leadership Academy at Columbia University. What does leadership mean to you, and how do you lead Altamont and beyond?
Leadership takes a lot of different forms for me. I’m just as happy helping organize something as long as I’m working toward a great cause. I have also been involved in YouthServe, the Miree Center at Altamont, volunteering at various places around Birmingham, MIT’s Beaverworks Summer Institute and various clubs/programs at school.
What are your plans after graduation?
I plan to attend Columbia University in New York and major in Financial Economics.
What do you do in your free time?
I enjoy reading, baking, sleeping, taking care of my plants and spending time with my friends. Essentially, I’m an avid fan of grandma activities.
