Franklin County Times

By Staff
Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Kim West
As the starting catcher for the Russellville High School softball team, it's only approriate that senior Laurie Rickard catches a lot of grief from her teammates.
"I have many embarrasing moments over the years," said Rickard, who has played softball for 10 years. "The worst one happened during my tenth grade year when we were playing at Athens.
"When I went to bat, I didn't think I would get a hit but I did and ended up tripping over the bag about seven times before I got out of the batter's box – my teammates still give me a hard time about that one."
Off the field, Rickard, 18, stands fourth in her class with a 97.773 average and is a member of the National Honor Society. She has received scholarships from the University of North Alabama, Northwest-Shoals Community College and There's A Way.
Rickard was also awarded an academic excellence award at Honors Night and served as assistant editor of the yearbook staff, FBLA treasurer and Mu Alpha Theta project chairperson.
Rickard said she plans to attend junior college for a year and then transfer to a four-year school to become a math teacher.
"I'm going to start at Northwest-Shoals and then I will probably transfer to UNA and major in education because I want to be a math teacher," said Rickard. "I've always loved math – it's my favorite subject and it's something I've always enjoyed."
Despite spending so much time together on the softball field, Rickard named Russellville softball coach Ted Ikerd as her favorite teacher, along with kindergarten teacher Susan Harkness.
"My favorite classes have been Mrs. Harkness' kindergarten class and Coach Ikerd's history class," she said. "I've also been his aide twice so I've probably spent half of my high school career with him."
In her spare time, Rickard likes to relax with friends and family and keep up with "American Idol."
"I just like to hang out with my friends and spend time with my boyfriend and family – I like to go with them to Florence to see a movie or go bowling," she said. "I like all types of music but I love 'American Idol.' I went with Mrs. DeArman and a bunch of other people to see the Season 6 (cast) in concert in Birmingham."
Rickard is the daughter of Alan and Lesa Rickard and has a sister, Lindsey, 21, a UNA student.