Pillow Academy’s Class of 2022 will celebrate graduation this Friday at the Leflore County Civic Center.
The ceremony will start at 6 p.m.
Dia Chawla, 18, is the valedictorian, and Avery McDaniel, 17, is salutatorian.
Chawla, who has a 4.92 GPA, is a National Merit Scholarship winner and was selected last year as the National High School Heisman female winner.
She participated in Pillow’s basketball, dance and tennis teams — she was the captain of the dance team — and won state championships in all three, which she considers her favorite highlights of her high school career.
Chawla also created the ACT Diversity Preparation Club to assist students at Pillow and Greenwood High School with ACT test preparation and took part in other student organizations at her school.
“The biggest thing I’ll miss at Pillow and Greenwood as a whole is the sense of community that I felt with my classmates,” she said.
Although there are some disadvantages to being at a small school, there are more advantages, she said: “I truly felt like I knew everyone.”
Chawla will attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and is considering studying sociology and government.
McDaniel has a 4.9 GPA and will attend Mississippi State University, where she plans to major in biology. She intends to become a pediatric physical therapist.
At Pillow, she served on the student council, including a year as vice president. This year she is secretary for the school’s chapter of the National Honor Society and is president of the English Honor Society. She is also a staff writer for the student newspaper, The Pony Express, and is involved in various community service initiatives.
McDaniel was also on the school’s cheerleading and tennis teams.
“I’m definitely going to miss cheering on the Mustangs and all my teachers and friends,” she said.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
