DeVaney eyes future with big plans
Editor’s Note: Franklin’s Future is a regular feature spotlighting a high school senior in Franklin County and what they have planned for life after graduation.
Belgreen High School senior Lydia DeVaney is what you would call a well-rounded student.
The 17-year-old girl has exemplified leadership at BHS by serving as the president and vice-president of Beta Club, the treasurer of the senior class, secretary of the student council two years in a row, an officer in Future Business Leaders of America, a leader in Faith Founders, and a member of both Students Against Destructive Decisions and the Beautification Club.
She has shined in the sports arena through her role as a varsity basketball player and a member of the track team.
And she has won the respect of her peers and others by being named Senior Class Favorite and Best Dressed, best actress in the senior play, most photogenic in the fall pageant, and she was named Miss BHS, a title she received by being nominated by teachers and voted in by the students.
For someone who has had such a notable high school experience, it’s no wonder she’s a little sad to leave it all behind once she graduates this May.
“Everybody is counting down the days until graduation, but I’m going to be sad for it all to end,” DeVaney said. “I’ll miss seeing my friends everyday and I’m going to miss my teachers like Coach Humphries and Mrs. Tutich. I’m also going to miss running for offices in the different organizations because I like to talk in front of people.”
DeVaney said she has made a lot of fun memories during her high school days, but some of the best memories happened during her basketball experiences the past couple of years.
“We had been in the county finals and had lost 10 times in a row, but we finally won county last year, so that was a big deal,” DeVaney said. “Then this year we won area and sub-regionals and it was fun going to Hanceville.”
Even though DeVaney has had high school experiences she said she will miss, she said she’s also looking forward to going to college at the University of North Alabama and being reunited with her sister, Anna, who is a year older and already a student at UNA.
“I think I’ll enjoy the college experience and meeting new people and making new friends,” she said.
DeVaney said she plans to major in journalism or broadcast journalism.
“I love to read all the time. I’m really just a nerd,” DeVaney said with a laugh. “Ultimately I think I’d like to become an editor at a book publishing company because I think I would really enjoy it.”
But before she moves off to face college and a new life, DeVaney plans to go on a senior trip with her friends to Daytona Beach and she hopes to go on a mission trip to New York.
“I have such a tender heart,” she said. “I just really like to help people.”
