Senior Spotlight: Daniel Williamson

Photo by Luke Williamson

Perry Jamail, Reporter
May 23, 2018

After a high school career of participating in various activities such as choir, PALs and multiple honor societies, as well and having a schedule compiled of mainly AP classes, senior Daniel Williamson has obtained the skill of balancing a challenging schedule.

As a freshman in 2014, Williamson said that he did not have a clear idea of what he wanted to accomplish during his next four years. He was motivated by his older siblings and to set goals, and in senior year Williamson became eighth in his class.

“I started writing down my goals, short and long term, in a note on my phone,” Williamson said. “Some of the general ones I set were making it into the top ten of my class, stepping up as a leader in Science National Honor Society and Student Council, making All-State Choir and late in my junior year, attending Vanderbilt University to pursue medicine and a career as a family practitioner.”

Williamson said that he had to decide how much work he could handle between his schedule.

“I had two primary extracurriculars, PALs and Choir, and then a few honor societies and big organizations that required a lot of effort,” Williamson said. “Based off of that, I decided that I could balance four AP classes each semester. That was what I could handle and still manage to enjoy time with friends and loved ones.”

Although this balance worked for him in his four years as a high school student, Williamson said this process is different for every high school student.

“Each person has to find their own balance that they can succeed with,” Williamson said. “Don’t stretch yourself too thin but don’t sell yourself short.” 

To be his best, Williamson said that getting help from teachers was vital to his success.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask for help from teachers and friends,” Williamson said. “Everyone’s human and is probably willing to help you out because they’ve been there.”

Looking forward to continuing his education in college, Williamson is planning to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, which he said will build his current strengths while also pushing him to exceed his goals. 

“I look forward to attending a school that is designed to challenge and grow its students in all sorts of ways,” Williamson said. “I can definitely invest more in academics, but I can also audition for music groups and try out for the ultimate frisbee team. So I can continue the interests I already have at a higher level pretty organically, find out what I really want to focus on, and maybe drop things that are less important to me and who I want to become.”