Jalisa Williams is the valedictorian for the 2022 graduating class of Jones County High School, and Reagan Hicks is this year’s salutatorian. Both students said they were surprised by the news.
The valedictorian is the student who graduates with the highest cumulative GPA, while the salutatorian is the second highest-ranking student in a graduating class.
Williams said she’s lived in Jones County her entire life, attending Dames Ferry Elementary and Gray Station Middle previously. She said she’s enjoyed playing tennis and music throughout school in Jones County.
“Since I’ve been here so long, I feel like I know a lot of people in the community,” she said. “You run into people at Ingles and their parents, so it’s just a nice community to grow up in with familiar faces.”
She said she’s a little jittery about giving her speech at graduation, and she wants to write something good for her classmates. She said she’s up for the challenge but still can’t believe she’s this year’s valedictorian.
“I was just really shocked and surprised because I wasn’t expecting it. It was a nice surprise, but it caught me off guard. I was very happy. My parents were just as shocked as I was. My dad walked over to me crying, so I’d say my parents are really proud,” Williams said.
The valedictorian said she will be attending Mercer University after graduation. She plans on becoming a neonatologist. “I really wanted to be
“I really wanted to be a doctor since I was very young. I never went through a phase where I wanted to be something else,” the valedictorian said. “Since my goals never changed, I started to get more serious about them later.”
Hicks said she’s also lived in Jones County her entire life and attended Dames Ferry Elementary School. She said Jones County is a great community to grow up in, and she’s going to miss Jones County when she’s away for college.
“The community is great here. While playing sports, you really get to see how much all the parents care and support the teams,” she said. “People here rally around others having a hard time. It’s very inspiring.”
Hicks said she was shocked about becoming this year’s salutatorian. She said her mother was just as shocked as she was, but she was proud of her. She said she’s ready for graduation day.
“I’m not nervous about the speech, but I am nervous about making it a good speech. I don’t want to say things everyone else has said. I don’t want it to be overdone,” she said.
The salutatorian said she will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology after graduation and wants to study biology. She said the plan is to become a genetic engineer.
“I’ve wanted to be an engineer since fifth grade. When we did Punnett squares, I knew it was what I wanted to do,” she said. “It just works. It’s such an exciting field, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Both students will give their final speeches to the graduating class of 2022 at their May 24 graduation.
