COLEMAN – Hannah Rose is the valedictorian of the Coleman High School Class of 2021 while Makailey Rosales earned the honor of salutatorian.

Coleman High School graduation will take place Friday, May, 28.

Rose, the daughter of Joe Lee and Sandra Rose, said of receiving the news she was named valedictorian, “It is an honor to be named the valedictorian this year. I am very thankful for the education that I have received at Coleman High School and the opportunity to represent the students of our class. I worked very diligently to ensure that I made the best possible grades and took the most challenging courses throughout high school, so I knew that I had a pretty good shot at achieving my goal of being valedictorian.”

Rose will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she plans to study aerospace engineering.

“When I was a junior, our rocketry team was given the honor of restoring the Miss Riley rocket from the movie October Sky to launch the ashes of Quentin Wilson, one of the original Rocket Boys,” Rose said. “It was a truly prodigious experience and was the main factor that sparked my interest in the aerospace field.”

Looking 10 years into the future, Rose said, “I honestly don’t know yet what I will be doing in 10 years, but I think that may be for the best. However, I do know that by moving so far away from home and attending such a rigorous university, I’ll be exposed to so many new opportunities and I’m very excited to see where those lead. Who knows, maybe I’ll just have to get back to you with the answer to this question in 10 years.”

Rose participated in “a multitude of extracurriculars throughout high school, but my two favorites were serving as the State President of the Texas Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America and serving as the Team Captain of our Some Nerds rocketry team.”

Inside the classroom, Rose said, “I absolutely adore every teacher that I have had the pleasure of learning from over the past four years. However, a few who made a large impact on my life were Mr. Norman, my calculus teacher, Mr. Strickland, my rocketry teacher, Coach Norris, my English II teacher, Mrs. Phillips, my FCCLA advisor, Mrs. Griffin, my anatomy teacher, and Mrs. Landers, my theater teacher.”

Rosales said of receiving the salutatorian accolade, “This proves that all my hard work and dedication to my schoolwork has paid off. I have always been top few in the class but we have a very competitive class and always battle for every spot. I knew it would be close and am extremely excited to be salutatorian.”

Rosales, the daughter of Ruben and Jacque Rosales, is bound for Angelo State University to study pre-medicine in hopes of pursuing a career in Radiology.

“I have always enjoyed helping others and want to learn more about the human body and the processes of life,” Rosales said.

Of her 10-year goals, Rosales said, “Depending on medical school acceptance, I hope to be continuing to complete my doctorate degree in radiology.”

Rosales took part in “the athletic program including cross-country, basketball, track, tennis, and golf. I have served as a student athletic trainer for the past two years and will be participating in the FCA All-Star Festival this summer as a student athletic trainer as well. I have also been an active member of academic UIL for the past four years and have competed at the state level. I did FFA for three years as part of the milk judging, floriculture, wildlife, and creed speaking teams. I currently serve as the Vice-President for National Honor Society and Student Council where we participate and lead numerous community service activities throughout the year. For three years, I participated in 4-H where I competed at the state level and acted as treasurer my sophomore year and vice-president my junior year. I also have been involved with the Coleman County Junior Chamber for three years where I have helped with many volunteer services throughout my community.”

Regarding her favorite subjects in school, Rosales said, “I really enjoyed Anatomy and Physiology and Calculus. All faculty and staff at CHS have been very supported of me and I am grateful to have had the experience to learn from each of them.”