By Derrick Thomas
The Selma Times-Journal

Darren Reese, a student from Ellwood Christian Academy, son of Valerie Reese and Jerry Milhouse, was recently named the school’s valedictorian, though this honor was something he did not expect.

Graduating from ECA with a 3.8 GPA, Reese was involved in organizations that required high intellect, these organizations being the STEM program and the National Honor Society.
Reese viewed these organizations as honors and was grateful to have been accepted into them. “It was a great experience, and I am thankful to have been a part of them. We had a wonderful time together.”

When not embedded in school or school-related activities, Reese plays sports and heavily involves himself in church.

However, he did not let his fun interfere with his academics, as he states that he put in a lot of hard work and effort into achieving the title of Ellwood’s valedictorian.
As his senior year progressed towards its end, classes became more difficult, and more effort had to be placed into his work.

“It was hard,” Reese said. The teachers were getting stricter as time went by. As it got closer to graduation they were hard on us.”

Though, despite the increase in difficulty, Reese prevailed and found himself at the top of the class.

With high school now complete, Reese plans to attend Tuskegee University and major in Chemical Engineering.

“I chose [Tuskegee University] because I have family members that went to Tuskegee, so it was only right for me to fall in line,” he said.

To get a head start on his college experience, Reese is participating in Tuskegee University’s Fastrec Program, a program that allows high school students to gain college credits over the course of the summer.

He is excited to take classes and learn the campus, and remaining active sports, he also plans to play football while enrolled at the Tuskegee.