Greenwood High School’s valedictorian and salutatorian both have ambitious goals to pursue careers in medicine.
Valedictorian Nicholas Foster intends to become an orthopedic surgeon, and salutatorian Elrica Brown expects to be an anesthesiologist.
They’ll soon begin their journeys toward those professions at Jackson State University and Tougaloo College, respectively.
But first they’ll graduate from Greenwood High School at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Leflore County Civic Center. In all, 129 graduating seniors will receive their diplomas. Family and friends are encouraged to arrive early.
“I’m going to give encouraging words to my classmates to keep furthering their education and also talk about some of the memories we had at Greenwood High School,” Foster said.
The son of Sonji Foster and Clayton Foster Sr., he earned a 4.4 GPA in high school. It was boosted over 4.0 by Advanced Placement courses.
Foster played trumpet in the Greenwood High band and was twice selected to the exclusive Lions Club All State Concert Band. He plans to continue his musical pursuits at Jackson State by playing with its famed Sonic Boom of the South band.
He’ll be studying chemistry or pre-med at the same time.
Brown, the daughter of Johnny Pilcher and Elry Brown, carried a 4.3 GPA. She said one of the highlights of her high school career was this year’s Who’s Who program. Her peers voted her the winner in three categories, including “Most Likely to Succeed” and “Most Sophisticated.”
“Everything about it was just awesome,” she said of the program, held earlier this month.
Brown plans to live up to those awards by studying pre-med at Tougaloo College. She’s also earned some work experience in the medical arena. She worked two summers at Greenwood Leflore Hospital, logging time in medical records and pre-op.
Both Foster and Brown have numerous club memberships and academic honors.
• Contact Charlie Smith at csmith@gwcommonwealth.com.
