Well-rounded Bruin always ready to help others

Abby Minton has been into everything. It's just in her nature.

President of her class, deeply entrenched in the Student Council, a member of a wide variety of clubs and a standout tennis player, Minton has played a vital role in all aspects of school life at Pulaski Academy.

"I hate saying 'no,' " said Minton, who has been selected as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Female Academic Athlete of the Year for 2018.

Pulaski Academy tennis coach Bill Topich said Minton was the first to offer encouragement to teammates and was always eager to tutor students in need of help on a variety of subjects.

"On the court she was polite and respectful," Topich said. "She showed the true meaning of sportsmanship every time but she also showed the intense desire to be the very best she could be."

Minton also played tennis with an injury to her right shoulder.

Minton and doubles partner Katie Swanson won the Overall high school title in 2015. But during Minton's final two years of competition, she played with right scapula dyskinesia, an injury that limited her range of motion and hampered her serving ability.

"I can't sleep on my right side and I can't lift anything heavy," Minton said. "But the good news is that I'm supposed to grow out of it by my early 20s."

The injury, however, did not result in any surgery.

"It's probably for the best that I didn't have surgery," Minton said. "If you do have surgery it requires a lot of recovery time, and even then it's not guaranteed that it will work."

"Without the injury, she could have played college tennis," Topich said. "Probably on the D2 or D3 level, but I think she could have developed into a Division 1 player."

Topich not only coached Minton, but he also had her in his Honors Senior Thesis Class. Topich said Minton wrote a 60-page project on the topic of International Adoption, spending months researching, interviewing subjects and writing the manuscript.

Minton plans to major in economics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. Prior to learning that Vanderbilt had accepted her, Minton was considering a business degree with a concentration on pre-law. She remains adamant that she will use the degree on an international basis.

"I have always enjoyed working with numbers and I love to travel," said Minton, who has recently returned from a trip to Rome and Greece. "I like the global aspect of business."

Minton was her junior and senior class president, a job she said was intimidating but rewarding.

"It was a very daunting task to have people coming up to me looking for answers," Minton said. "But I loved it. I enjoyed being the liaison betwen the faculty and the students."

Minton earned National Merit Commended Scholar honors, was a Arkansas Girls' State delegate and served on the yearbook staff and was the prom committee leader. She was a member of the Beta Club, the Culinary Club, the Interact Club and the Spanish Club. She compiled more than 250 hours of community service.

"I think being able to manage my time was something I could be proud of," Minton said. "I was able to help a lot of the younger kids. I got to travel to the Dominican Republic twice and I think that was a valuable experience. It also helped me grow my own faith."

In both 2016 and 2017, Minton teammed with Caroline Gibbens to advance to the Overall doubles semifinals. Minton was a three-time member of the Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps team.

"Abby is unique, she's rare and very humble," Topich said. "She was a mentor to a lot of students. She showed a lot of compassion toward them and had a kind heart. She is one of the most well-rounded students I've ever had."

Sports on 07/15/2018