Becoming a high school valedictorian isn’t something that just happened to Freddiemae Thompson. She worked toward that goal for almost six years.
“I had always been academically well-inclined in school,” she said. “When I was in the Dumas School District, it was seventh grade and I received the all-A’s award. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. So, I was one of the few students in my grade to receive the award. I had made up my mind that day that was something I was going to pursue, no matter what.
Thompson will be honored as Dollarway High School’s 2021 class valedictorian Tuesday during graduation exercises at Cardinal Stadium on Dollarway Road. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m.
“Ever since seventh grade, every nine weeks, every report card, I received all A’s and I knew if I worked hard enough and I prayed to God enough, I could be the valedictorian of my class, and I really wanted that honor,” Thompson said.
The senior class will be the last to graduate from the Dollarway School District before it’s annexed into the Pine Bluff School District.
Dollarway High School will remain open for the 2021-22 school year.
The experience of graduating as a Cardinal will be exciting for Thompson, but there are other emotions involved.
“It’s a bit of a bittersweet moment because, although I fell in love with Dollarway quickly, it’s a little saddening, yet sweet that I came just as an 11th-grade junior,” she said. “Part of me wishes I had just a bit more time to spend with the people that became my second family.” Before her Cardinal days, Thompson started school in the Pine Bluff district and attended sixth through 10th grades in Dumas, where her mother Ronnieus was the junior high principal.
Mrs. Thompson is now principal of Robert F. Morehead Middle School, housed across from the present Dollarway High campus in the Townsend Park area. Freddiemae’s father, Varnell Thompson Sr., works at Tyson Foods and Leon’s Catfish.
Freddiemae set a goal in seventh grade to become her class valedictorian, and she did it after long hours of study, even while learning virtually along with her brother Varnell Jr., 12, a sixth-grader, as a precaution against covid-19.
“Even though it was sometimes hard and sometimes my study time was very long and vigorous, along with my band schedule and taking care of the home life, I had to lean onto God to help me because it wasn’t always easy,” Freddiemae said. “It wasn’t always something I could quickly grasp or understand. I can very much remember staying up to 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., studying for a pre-calculus exam or taking that calculus exam. I just had to lean to God to help me understand.
“When I leaned until Him, that’s how I was able to succeed. Yes, I had to work hard on my own. Yes, I had to be determined. But when it comes to my studies and the success behind it, I have to give that honor to God.” Her drive for academic growth and articulation leave even her guidance counselor in awe.
“Where do I start?” Harris said, asking Freddiemae to help him. “ I’m at a loss for words because I think so many things. Excellence in every aspect — imaginable and unimaginable.” School librarian Joyce Wilkes praised Thompson.
“She’s a leader in her own heart. We don’t have to do much. We give it to her, and she’ll go get it,” Wilkes said. “Just the other day, she was in here and someone needed something. She was calling and consulting us like she was an educator. She’s awesome and we’re blessed to have her. She’s a role model for the other students.” A trumpeter, Freddiemae earned a full scholarship to participate in the Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, on top of a $48,000 University Scholarship. She estimates receiving $1.7 million total in offers to a number of schools.
Her plan is to major in biology and pre-medicine as she sets her sights on entering the field of nephrology, which is the study of kidneys. An aunt in her 30s is battling kidney disease, which helped Freddiemae to choose that path.
“In my family, it’s been a long line of kidney failure,” Freddiemae said. “A long line of my family members have diabetes, a couple of heart failures and of course we’ve had a lot of kidney failures. In seventh or eighth grade, I had to decide which of those fields I was going to focus in on.” Studying nephrology will help her educate others on how to prevent kidney disease and find matches for those who need new kidneys, she said.
In addition to her academic and musical endeavors, Freddiemae served as president of Future Business Leaders of America and senior class president. She touts helping her classmates with sending college applications, sending them Biblical scriptures and checking on others’ mental health among her leadership achievements.
The death of an elementary principal in Dumas inspired Thompson to take an interest in lifting up others emotionally.
“I figured you’re supposed to check on others,” she said. “I always say in emails, if there’s something you need, let me know. What if the problem is not academically related?” Freddiemae shares the phone number to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255.
“They may feel embarrassed to call, but I let them know they can call on the name of Jesus,” she said.
To anyone who reaches for a goal, Freddiemae shares these words, “Have faith in God, believe in yourself and remember to never allow others or yourself to count you out or to keep you from reaching your dreams or goals.”