Name: Shekinah Hall
School: Troup High School
Parents: Melvin and Saundra Hall
With a sweet spirit and infectious laugh,
Shekinah Hall just smiles widely when
asked about being Valedictorian of
Troup High School’s 2015 graduating
class.
While she didn’t know she was going to be given the high honor, she has been working
towards it since her freshman year. “My parents have been there supporting me the
entire time. Sometimes I have to choose between going to dinner with friends and
staying home to study. I picked staying home to study and it seems to have paid
off.”
As the future Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket reflected on her high school career,
identifying one teacher who helped her along the journey was just too difficult, she says
there were so many that poured into her whole life. When she does narrow the list down
a bit, she rattles off the names Michelle Ashmore, Elizabeth Watts, Chance Giddens,
David Diehl and Coach Jodi Dowden.
The teachers are a big part of what makes her appreciate Troup High School, “If I
could, I would name every teacher I’ve had at Troup. They stay after school to
help if you need it and they give you life advice if you need it.”
Shekinah knows how to make tough choices. She was captain of the Volleyball team
her sophomore and junior year. She played for only three years because she started the
Dual Enrollment program at LaGrange College her senior year. She still went to the
games to support the team. “Sports was fun. It taught me to work with others. It
also taught me leadership because you have to make decisions that are best for
the whole.”
Double-dutching between her senior year of high school and freshman year of college
was a great experience for the athlete. She took Intro to Political Science, Economics
and Pop Culture and Feminism. Taking classes that would fill high school requirements
and transfer to college were important to her.
The Star Student currently works at the public library where she picked up Spanish and
has fallen in love with learning languages. Because of her diligence, she will start
Georgia Tech as a sophomore in the fall. She plans to major in Public Policy
and minor in Pre-law.