May 2, 2008

Hard work pays off for Ryan’s top students

Andy Telli, Tennessee Register

When Sarah Lankford and Mary Glover started as freshmen at Father Ryan High School four years ago, they had no grand plans to finish at the top of the Class of 2008.

But after a lot of hard work, that’s just where they’ve ended up.

At the graduation for the Class of 2008 at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center, Lankford and Glover will lead their classmates as valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.

Lankford approached her studies at Ryan the same way she takes on any task, she said, determined to do her best. “It’s awesome it’s paid off,” she said. “We have a very smart class, just incredibly smart people. It feels awesome” to finish her high school career as the top student.

Lankford draws inspiration and encouragement from her parents, Diana Allen and Jim Lankford, she said, and owes it to them to do her best.

“Mom didn’t have the opportunities (that) she’s worked to give my brothers and me,” Lankford said. “She’s helped me every way she knows how. It feels good to make her proud.”

Glover took a similar approach, following the admonition of her parents, Ruth and Scott Glover, to always do her best. “There’s a self satisfaction to know you’ve done as well as you can.”

Both will be enrolling at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville next fall.

“When we had a college fair my junior year, I was grabbing brochures like a madwoman,” Lankford said. She considered all types of schools, but fairly early in the process gravitated toward UT. After a campus visit, Lankford said, “I felt it was a fit.”

“I looked at a lot of places,” Glover said. “In the end I narrowed it down to St. Louis University and UT. UT seemed the more practical choice and the right fit.”

Lankford plans on studying nursing, choosing that field of study because, “I have an affinity for working with people … especially children.”

Glover will major in biology and hopes to be either a surgeon or scientist.

Lankford and Glover will be joined at UT by a large contingent of Ryan classmates.

“It will be a sort of comfort area having people there you know,” Lankford said.

She and Glover have seen a lot of changes in themselves and their classmates over the last four years.

“I was very shy my freshman year. That’s changed a lot,” Glover said. “Everyone is always so nice and friendly. It kind of comes naturally.”

“As a class we’ve all grown up,” Lankford said.

She credits some of the maturity of the Class of 2008 to the changes brought to Father Ryan by Jim McIntyre who arrived as Ryan’s new principal their sophomore year. “We grew with him,” she said.

First as principal and now as school president, McIntyre helped to focus the atmosphere at the school, raising the expectations for students, Lankford said.

Along the way, the Class of 2008 has grown closer, Lankford and Glover said. “Our class is a lot closer than a lot of others,” Glover said.

Both Lankford and Glover came to Father Ryan from Catholic elementary schools; Lankford attended St. Henry School in Nashville and Glover St. Rose of Lima School in Murfreesboro.

“It’s nice to be open about your religion” in school, Glover said. Her teachers, even if they aren’t Catholic, share “the same Christian attitude.”

“You always feel safe and you always feel like you matter, that you’re cared for,” Lankford said of her years in Catholic school “We’re really lucky.”

Both have been active in extracurricular activities while at Father Ryan. Glover has been a member of the marching and concert bands and plays the flute and piccolo.

Lankford plays on Ryan’s lacrosse team and is a cheerleader for the wrestling team. She’s also active with the St. Henry CYO, SEARCH and Girl Scout Troop 1932 at St. Henry. She has earned the rank of Senior Scout, which is similar to an Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts, Lankford said. To earn that honor, she worked on a project to organize a drive to collect medical supplies for the Visitation Clinic in Haiti.

Both Lankford and Glover carried a heavy academic load through their senior year. Glover’s class schedule includes AP English, AP Calculus, AP Biology, band, U.S. History, and Comparative World Religions.

Lankford has been studying Honors Latin I, Honors Pre-Calculus, Shakespeare, advanced biology, AP Government, AP English and Senior Service class.

“I’ve loved this year. I love every class I’m taking,” Lankford said. “This is the best year by far.”

Photo by Andy Telli

Mary Glover, left, and Sarah Lankford are the salutatorian and valedictorian, respectively, of the Class of 2008 at Father Ryan High School. They and their classmates will graduate on Sunday, May 18.