This week’s senior spotlight features athlete and endowed scholar, Davis Brown. To begin his high school career, Davis was awarded the Ann MacPherson Weaver Scholarship, which granted him free tuition his high school years. From 9^th grade on, Davis has made an unforgettable impact on Rocky Mount Academy with his impeccable leadership, challenging academic schedule, extra-curriculars, and community service.

The first characteristic that can be noted about Davis is his strong leadership ability. Although he participates in many clubs like Key Club, FCA, and NHS, Davis is always going above and beyond by leading and starting new and exciting things. Davis is the founder of Model United Nations (MUN) and “Lunch Bunch” – a program that jumpstarts reading interest among third graders. With this, Davis has initiated a book drive, organized and categorized books, trained and scheduled volunteers, and led groups of 3-4 students for the weekly program consisting of over 5 classes of third graders. Additionally, Davis has held an office in RMA Student Government Association (SGA) all four years of high school and assumed the role of Vice President his senior year. Davis has also been on the Honor Council since 9^th grade, and is now the Chairman. To show what a unique and innovative student he is, Davis was even among the starting founders of Media Office, publishing and editing articles for the weekly “Eagle Examiner” for the past two years.

Academically, Davis is the strongest of his grade excelling in all of his AP and Honors classes. Davis has taken over 10 AP classes and was awarded Highest Academic Average in AP Physics, AP Calculus, Honors English 11, AP Statistics, Honors Biology, Honors Spanish 9, and Honors English 9. Davis was even given the AP Scholar with Honors Award his junior year. As expected, Davis was the Chief Graduation Marshal for the junior class. However, Davis’ academic accomplishments are not limited to just RMA. Davis also attended Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics at UNC- Charlotte and Governor’s School for English, studying poetry under Chuck Sullivan.

Not only is Davis a star in the classroom, he is also a key player athletically. Through the years, Davis has played Soccer (he was captain senior year), Basketball, Tennis, and Cross Country. Davis made Honorable Mention All-Conference Tennis his 10^th and 11^th grade years, Honorable Mention All-Conference Cross Country 8^th and 10^th grade, and was Rocky Mount Telegram’s All-Area Honorable Mention Tennis 10^th and 11^th grade. Davis is known for his competitiveness but is also a great sportsman for younger students to look up to and learn by.

Outside of school, Davis stays busy working, volunteering, and doing community service. Davis is very involved in his church and has gone on mission trips to Honduras and Ecuador serving at orphanages, laying pipe, and doing handiwork. Davis has also been an Acolyte for Calvary Episcopal Church since the 8^th grade, volunteer at Tarboro Community Outreach (TCO), and has served for Team 252 as a sports camp counselor and helping with repairs. For extra cash, Davis worked at On the Square as a dishwasher/runner weekends during school and during the summer, has been a babysitter for local families, and is a trustworthy afterschool tutor.

When it came down to college-decision time this year, Davis had many colleges interested in him due to all of his hard work. In the end, Davis was torn between two opportunities: whether to go to Stanford, or take a scholarship to UNC- Chapel Hill. The highlight of Davis’ career at Rocky Mount Academy has been his achievement of being awarded the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, which covers four years of undergraduate study at UNC- Chapel Hill. He happily took the Morehead and will be a tarheel this upcoming fall!

Davis is the embodiment of a dedicated student that had a goal and achieved it with great success. He has excelled in every field: academics, athletics, and extra-curriculars, and all of his efforts definitely paid off. He is the true role model for younger students as he proves that with hard work and dedication, anything is possible and you can even have fun along the way.

To learn more about Davis, read his short interview below:

What was your favorite class you took at RMA? -It’s a draw between AP Calc with Mrs. Meadows and AP Econ with Mr. Stancavish.

What is your favorite thing that you accomplished at RMA? -Definitely creating Lunch Bunch, a program were volunteers from the RMA and Rocky Mount community come in to get third graders to love to read. Seeing the success the program had at RMA inspired me to take it to a local public school, Martin Millennium, in Tarboro.

What will you miss the most about RMA? -The awesome teachers: the fact that most teachers at RMA are very aware of their classrooms and their teaching styles and will put in a lot of thought and time to teach students.

What is your favorite long lunch destination? -I’ve recently become a huge Wendy’s fan.

Do know what you want to study in college? -I am not sure, but I want to tackle some interdisciplinary ideas. I definitely want to learn more about a lot of things.

Growing up, what did you aspire to be? -A ninja.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? -Ideally out of school. Making a meaningful impact for good!

What is your favorite Netflix show? -House of Cards. My favorite non-Netflix shows are The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and Mr. Robot.

If you were a millionaire, how would you spend your time and money? -I would give a lot to charity, invest some in positive innovation/research and continue to work/have a job.

If you could give any piece of advice to underclassmen, what would it be? -Try to be as open as possible when you communicate with your teachers. It’s ok to disagree with them… From experience, I probably wouldn’t recommend having arguments in the middle of class though!