Before the world shifted, the Advancement Office had planned to share senior spotlights on some of the faces of the Class of 2020 and what Darlington means to them. These students represent everything Darlington’s faculty and staff work tirelessly for - our future alumni.
There has never been a better time to feature our seniors - they deserve the spotlight as the spring they so looked forward to has shifted. This series will feature several Darlington seniors who will share their favorite things about Darlington and also how they are adjusting to this new world of distance learning.
We hope you will enjoy getting to know these seniors better and will make a gift to honor the Class of 2020, who need our support now more than ever. To make a gift to the 2019-2020 Darlington Fund please click here.
What’s your favorite song?
Toosie Slide
What’s your favorite thing served in the dining hall?
Chicken tenders and fries
What house are you in?
Thornwood
What is your favorite place on campus and why?
I like the Huffman and the chapel because at the Huffman that is where you are first dropped off your first day of high school and the chapel is where you take your last steps as a Darlington student before you graduate in May. But my most favorite place would have to be the old lower school on Shorter Avenue, that's where my journey began.
Who is your favorite teacher and why?
I think my favorite would either have to be Coach D, Mrs. Smith, Mr. McConnell or Mr. McDurmon, because these teachers love what they do. They would always make up new ideas for kids to learn, Mr. McConnel had to check books in 3rd grade for us. Mrs. Smith in Pre-K had a buddy system with someone who was in the 5th grade, and Coach McDurmon doing the history video with an older person. Those teachers have really shown me that they are committed to helping students. I wish i could name all of them because there were some pretty great ones.
Where do you want to go to college and what do you want to do?
I want to go to JSU and go into the health field.
If you could name the two new swans what would you name them?
I would name them Sam and Kathy after Mr. Moss and Mrs. O’Mara because these two faculty have been at Darlington for over 30 years and who know this school like the back of their hand, and have seen the good and bad times and have devoted so much time and effort into this school, and have stayed here for more than any other faculty has ever before.
If you were given $10,000 to donate where would you donate to and why?
I would want to give it to the learning center! Because they have always been there when I needed help with something whether it be Mr. Bruce making me laugh until I cry or Mrs. Ellison helping me with math until I couldn't do it anymore. I think in the learning center there could be some new arrangements, like some chairs like Mrs. Sikes has in her room for students who need that friendly environment with lots of colors, rollie chairs, writing on the walls like in the library so students can write out math problems with no wasting of paper. Some students may have some sort of ADHD or ticks, and there could be different ways for them to cope with the stress like the ones I just mentioned. There needs to be a room where a child can just let out all the stress and frustration of not only dealing with high school, but learning to become an adult.
We have 1,500 donors who give to Darlington every year sure you have a great experience - how would you thank them?
Thank you for letting my class be able to be the first ones who got to experience all the new technology 10 ago with the iPads. Without your donations Darlington would have never been able to provide hundreds of Apple computers for students for over 10 years.
What is your favorite thing about Darlington and why is that important to you?
It's important because it has so many great traditions and an amazing history of where it all began in the tiny little red brick building in 1905 where there were only a couple of chairs.
