This is the ninth entry in the Class of 2023 series.
To find the "practical model student" at Pine Bluff High School, just look to the head of the class, Morgan Wilson will say.
Wilson wears many hats in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- or STEM -- realm at the school. She's the acting chair of the math and science department, teaches calculus, biology and Advanced Placement biology, and co-supervises the robotics program with her mother Glean Wilson.
One student she's often come across on campus -- be it in the classroom or the robotics lab -- is Erika Washington.
"She's extremely hard-working, but she's very civic-minded in making sure that she's always volunteering, even going outside to help with robotics not just on this campus but on UAPB's campus," Morgan Wilson said. "Erika is the practical model student, if I had to choose one."
Erika is also this year's valedictorian at PBHS, with a 4.1-grade point average on a 4.0 scale as of April. Washington and the rest of the senior class will graduate at 7 tonight at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
"The end of my junior year, it just hit me: If I continue doing as good as I am, like right now, I'll have it because, me and my classmates, we'll talk about it and what position we're in, and I'm like, oh, I'm No. 1," Washington said. "It just hit me then. I was like, I've got to keep doing what I'm doing."
Washington does a lot in the STEM world. Her favorite subject is math, with algebra her favorite branch of the study.
Her sights are set on majoring in computer science at the University of Central Arkansas with hopes of becoming a software developer.
"In the fourth grade, I started doing robotics with my teacher, Ms. Warren [at Broadmoor Elementary]," Washington said. "From then on, I just kept being involved in robotics. I like it from the aspect of how the robot functions, and the different ways you can make it work is fascinating for me. That's why I really wanted to get into that and start learning to code. I'm not much of a builder, but I will do the building.
"It's just the way how everything works and how everything moves and functions. That's what really interests me."
In a recent program celebrating women in STEM in Little Rock, Washington helped fellow students Lyra Lee and Taeshalon Hackett model a balloon-powered car. Washington also works with students at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in developing robots.
Washington's academic excellence is highlighted in the midst of a movement to encourage more Black women to participate in STEM-related activities.
"I feel like if a Black girl and Black female is interested in robotics, that's very empowering," Washington said. "I want other young women to express their interest like me, even if you just try it for a little bit."
Wilson recalled teaching Washington in AP calculus early in the school year, saying the valedictorian was "wonderful" in class.
"She takes initiative, and then when she learns something, she doesn't hesitate to teach her peers and share the knowledge," Wilson said. "She already has a very inquisitive side, where she takes the knowledge and [applies] it to everything around her. She begins to ask questions. As a teacher, that's something that gets me super-excited -- 'Well, let's think about that; let's try that' -- as especially a lot of people don't see the application of mathematics."
Wilson requires students in AP calculus to talk about math, why it's used and for what would calculus itself be used. It's having relationships with teachers that has been a secret to Washington's success.
"For me, personally, I found communicating with my teachers is the best thing because if you don't communicate with your teachers and you're not doing your best, they don't see you're doing your best and that you're trying," Washington said. "If you communicate with them that you're trying to go above what you're doing, they'll give you a little more time or a little more help."
Pine Bluff High School valedictorian Erika Washington has been described as the "practical model student" by one of her teachers. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)