Vina Valedictorian: Erica Cantrell
Erica Cantrell was proud and excited – but not necessarily surprised – to find that she had achieved her goal of claiming the valedictorian slot for Vina High School Class of 2017.
“My parents pushed me my whole life,” Cantrell said. “It was important to me.”
A lifelong Red Devil, Cantrell will head to the University of North Alabama in the fall to pursue a degree in optometry, her interest piqued in the profession following a job shadowing experience.
Cantrell has been active as a student athlete on the softball field and also competed with track and was involved in FBLA (president), Lions Club, Junior Leadership, Honor Society and SGA (vice president). She also has 24 college credit hours to her name already because of her enrollment in dual credit courses.
Although graduating high school comes with a degree of sadness, “I’m excited for what comes next,” Cantrell said. “I’m ready to just do something different because I’ve gone to school here my whole life.”
Jessica Hamilton, who teaches English at Vina, described Cantrell as the “epitome of an exceptional student.” “She is very easy-going but serious about her education. She never seems stressed out about anything, and I admire that about her.”
Cantrell is the daughter of Denieta and Chris Cantrell.
