By Mollie Beth Wallace

The Natchez Democrat

VIDALIA — Vidalia High School valedictorian Miranda McMurry said her senior year of high school did not turn out as expected.

“At the beginning of this year I did not expect to be valedictorian or to be engaged,” she said.

But despite her plans, both possibilities came to fruition.

McMurry said making good grades came naturally to her, but she never thought her brains would land her at the top of her class.

“My sophomore year is when we lost a classmate, Storm Cangemi,” she said. “He was always at the top of the class.”

McMurry said that Vidalia uses a system that updates each student’s grade point average whenever a new grade is posted, so the rankings were constantly changing.

“I was No. 2 at the beginning of the year,” she said.

Despite her humility, McMurry admitted that learning has always been important to her.

“I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my school work,” McMurry said.

“My momma is one of those who’s always told me to get my grades honestly and do my own work,” McMurry said. “She was so proud. Even before we knew for sure, she was going around telling everyone that her daughter was No. 1 in her class.”

McMurry said the days since her graduation have felt like summer vacation, not the end of her schooling.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet really,” she said.

Perhaps reality hasn’t sunken in because she has such fond memories of Vidalia High School.

“I miss it already,” she said. “A lot of my friends are younger and still in school.”

In addition to attending Vidalia High School, McMurry said she devoted a lot of her time to the 4-H club, which she has been a member of since fourth grade.

“I’ve actually thought about being a 4-H agent,” she said. “When you do something for eight years it just kind of sticks with you.”

McMurry said she loves working with children, and therefore worked at Camp Grant Walker and Operation Military Kids, both sponsored by 4-H.

She said she plans to attend Central Louisiana Technical College in Ferriday in the summer of 2013 and enroll in their pharmacy technician program.

Until then, McMurry said she would enjoy spending time with her family and her fiancé, Jonathon Reese, also a 2012 graduate of VHS.

“We’re a lot a like,” she said of her fiancé. “We have a lot of the same things in common.”

The couple was engaged Feb. 11, 2012, but they plan to wait until they finish school to marry.

McMurry said Reese was always very encouraging and was excited for her to be named valedictorian.

“He told one of his friends that he was engaged to the smartest girl in his class,” she said.

In her free time, McMurry said she enjoys doing anything creative, but her favorite hobbies include making jewelry and writing poetry.

“When I have something on my mind or if I have something that happened in my life I want to remember then I’ll write about it,” she said.

After all the hard work it takes to become a valedictorian, McMurry said she plans to spend her summer enjoying time with her family and planning her future.