East Marion schools have a special place in the heart of Gracie Sanders, the school's salutatorian.
She has attended East Marion since pre-K and both of her parents graduated from the school. It has always been one of her goals to represent the school as one of its top students, which is now a reality.
Sanders, who has the second spot atop the class of 2023, also serves as Miss East Marion and graduates with a GPA of 3.97.
"(Being the salutatorian) is really a big honor," she said. "I've worked really hard my whole high school career for this. I've always known since middle school that I would be either the valedictorian or the salutatorian."
Her favorite subject is history, especially United States history from 1900 to the 1940s because she finds it interesting how the United States was slowly becoming a world power.
Because of this interest, she plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi and study history and education with the intention of becoming an elementary or high school history teacher. She plans to live on campus during the fall semester.
Her favorite class has been Advanced Placement literature with Todd Osborne, and she is adamant about her dislike of math.
She enjoyed Osborne's class because he is funny and makes the material interesting. There were only five students in the class, and they learned a lot of things she liked, such as poetry. She does say simple algebra is easy for her at times, and she understands math, but it depends on how it's taught and presented.
On her birthday this year, she received a $24,000 scholarship from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation. She also received academic excellence and salutatorian scholarships from USM.
Her advice to students coming up after her is to not put things off and to stand up for themselves.
"Don't procrastinate. Go ahead and find a good study routine because it will definitely help. I really like to use flash cards to help myself memorize information. Making my own flashcards is part of my routine," she said. "Don't let people walk all over you, and above all be kind to people no matter what. It works out better in the long run."
Sanders likes to listen to pop and rock music, and some of her favorites are The Beatles, Queen and Taylor Swift. She also likes school and has fun hanging out with her friends. Her friends describe her as kind, caring and a little funny.
Sanders is the daughter of Danny and Amberly Sanders, and she has two younger siblings, Marlie and Alex. She is the granddaughter of Willie and Linda Sanders, Benton "Pop Pop" and Patsy Harper and Debra Greenlee Piner-Collins.
"All of my family has been really supportive of me in general," she said, "but I'd say my mom pushed me the most to get things done."
"Gracie is very humble and compassionate," Amberly said. "She loves her school and doesn't mind speaking up to show how proud she is to be an Eagle. She has always strived to be top of her class, and I know she will continue to do great things as she continues her education as a Golden Eagle."
She has a cat named Boogie and a dog named Sadie.
She attends Life Church of God and works at R House as part of the kitchen staff plating food for customers.
