By Oniska Blevins
The Selma Times-Journal

Ambitious and driven are two words Briana Newberry uses to describe herself, so it came as no surprise to her when Selma High School announced she would be the valedictorian of her senior class.

A lover of many things, Newberry prides herself on being involved in both school and the community.

As a testament to her hard work, both academically as well as in the community, she recently won second place in the Rotary Club of Selma scholarship oratorical.

She is a member of Air Force Junior ROTC, Student Government Association, HER Vision Academy, Selma High School Choir, Future Farmers of America and National Honor Society.
Throughout high school, Newberry has maintained one of the top grade point averages at Selma High and is ending the year with a 4.25 GPA.

“Since the ninth grade I’ve been working hard towards [being valedictorian], and I made sure I stayed on top of everything,” Newberry said.

Not only is Newberry a graduating senior of Selma High, she also graduated from Wallace Community College Selma earlier this month with certifications as a patient care technician, EKG technician and a phlebotomy technician.

Those certifications didn’t come easy, Newberry said. In order to receive those certifications she had to complete the required courses, labs, and log clinical hours at Vaughan Regional Medical Center.

“I felt like my hard work paid off,” Newberry said.

Newberry plans to continue her hard work and continue her education.

In the fall of 2018, she plans to attend Springhill College and major in Biology.

Like a true scholar, Newberry is constantly researching her desired field of choice and sets obtainable goals based on the requirements needed to succeed.

Her plans are to become a forensic toxicologist, receive certification and build a lab in here in Selma. Newberry wants to give back to her community in a greater way than she has in the past.

Her parents are Deloris and Clyde Newberry.