Many see graduation as the completion of high school. For Carli Hutchison, it is but one step toward her future as a history teacher to the next generation of high school students.
The Teays Valley High School senior is the 2023 recipient of the Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic Award for Pickaway County. The award honors Walter — a former longtime state superintendent of public instruction — that was established in 1989 by the Ohio Educational Service Center Association to promote and recognize outstanding student leaders for their academic achievement and service to their schools and communities.
Eligible applicants must be a high school senior enrolled in a public school within an ESC’s service region. Recipients were required to demonstrate outstanding academic achievement as indicated by high school grades, test scores, school activities and awards.
Carli’s accomplishments in the classroom are noteworthy — earning all A’s in every single class all four years of high school, leading to a 4.95 GPA, and earning Math Student of the Month in 2019 for her performance in honors geometry and Social Studies Student of the Month in 2021 for a development project in her psychology class.
Her successes don’t stop in the classroom. She is active in school clubs, such as Student Council and Friends of Rachel (serving as secretary for both since 2019); is a member of National Honor Society, Key Club and Drug-Free Club of America. Carli also donates her time to the community, volunteering with Mid-Ohio Food Bank, Pickaway WORKS, the Red Cross and at events at Teays Valley and Walnut elementary schools. She also is a volleyball player.
An active member in her church, reading the Bible is what solidified her decision to teach history.
“Up until my sophomore year in high school I had decided that I was actually going to teach math,” Carli said. But realizing the historical significance of the people she read about in the Bible swayed her to history.
Her immediate goal is to attend Cedarville University for her bachelor’s degree and then pursue a master’s degree in math while teaching high school history.
“I knew that I wanted to (teach) high school because I have fallen in love with high school. I love the extracurriculars and I wish to be a part of these extracurriculars as a teacher. I also love the fact that I will be able to help my students apply to scholarships, choose colleges and prepare them for their future.
Carli’s math teacher, Jeremy Schaal, praised Carli’s drive and exceptional qualities in his recommendation letter for the Franklin B. Walter award.
“Carli is exceptional at mathematics and anything that is thrown at her she absorbs,” he wrote. “She is curious, she values her education, and she is the prime example of what a successful student is.”
Carli was presented with her Franklin B. Walter award at a luncheon last month and will receive a $500 scholarship from the Pickaway County ESC at the May 9 board meeting.