This Senior Spotlight focuses on a member of the senior class who is no stranger to another kind of spotlight: Ava Swanner. On March 19-20, Rocky Mount Academy put on a production of High School Musical, in which Ava played Martha. She was also in Grease, Mama Mia, and Little Me and was honored by Mrs. Whitehurst with an award for Outstanding Performance in Drama.
Ava takes her creativity beyond the stage and into her artwork. She is currently enrolled in Ceramics II, and her artwork has earned her awards for Excellence in Ceramics (11th grade), Art I (10th grade), and Painting and Drawing (9th grade). She has created many impressive pieces, one being a Polaroid camera. Giving her even more opportunities to showcase her creativity, she is also part of the Drama and Photography Clubs and is co-editor of the Yearbook.
In addition to Yearbook and Ceramics, Ava’s courses for this year include Trigonometry, AP Environmental Science, Geometry, and Advanced English 12. She has received awards for her academic efforts, including Most Improvement in Chemistry and Academic Excellence in Honors Modern European History, and she was on B Honor Roll in both tenth and eleventh grades.
Ava is a very active member of the senior class and is involved in multiple clubs, including the Conservation Club, Drama Club, Photography Club, and Student Booster Club. Her contributions in and out of the classroom at RMA earned her the coveted Good Citizenship Award in tenth grade.
Outside of school, Ava spends time working at Westridge Grill, going to the gym, and hanging out with friends–especially playing trivia and going shopping. Ava also commits some of her free time to playing sports. She played basketball in ninth and tenth grades and played soccer all of high school. In fact, she was on both the varsity and JV teams as a freshman but has since played defense exclusively on varsity.
Next fall, Ava will be attending Appalachian State University and plans to major in nursing. Ava wants to become either a Nurse Practitioner or a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist so she can help people.
Ava’s kind and creative personality has impacted this year’s senior class, and I am sure that she will excel in college next year!
Get to Know Ava Better!
Who is your role model?
My role model is my mom.
What is your favorite movie or go-to song?
My favorite movie is Footloose, and my favorite song is “New Money” from the new Broadway musical The Great Gatsby.
Describe your dream vacation. My dream vacation would be traveling to Italy because of the food and sights, but mainly the food!
What is your favorite school event?
Prom
What is one lesson you learned at RMA?
To be my authentic self.
