Whitney Carlock is almost always smiling. On every school day for the past four years, she walked into the journalism room, usually laughing, sat down at one of the computers, and worked on either newspaper articles or Hartselle High School’s (HHS) literary magazine. Carlock has been the editor of the school’s literary magazine for the past two years and a writer for the Tiger Times for the last four. She plans to attend Calhoun Community College for accounting in the fall.
Her first day at Hartselle Junior High (HJHS) was quite different from what she was accustomed to. Carlock grew up homeschooled. Then, her family decided to attend Hartselle. It was a little overwhelming considering she had once been in a “class” with only her siblings, and her first public school had only 25 students in the entire class. But she grew comfortable with it, and then started high school.
Carlock’s older brother was in the videography class at HHS, so Carlock decided to join journalism, thinking there would be at least a little interaction. There was none, but she enjoyed the class so much she continued for the next four years. She perfectly highlighted holidays, recipes, and events in The Tiger Times. Last year, she edited and designed the literary magazine. Every year, the journalism class receives submissions of art, writing, poetry, or photography and creates a book out of the work. It spotlights the outstanding artistic ability of HHS students. Carlock perfectly executed this project with excitement.
She said, “I liked having something of my own published. Having something you worked on yourself, like when we get the paper back, how cool it is to have it in your hands. Like I did that myself.”
Carlock joined Spanish her Sophomore year and took the class three years. She explained that this class proved to be beneficial in high school but also in real life-- like the grocery store. She said, “You [can] eventually use it in the future. I’ve used it in the grocery store before, so you can throw it out there in time of need. No one is confused because you know they need the milk and they can’t find the milk.” It is a useful skill she plans to use in her everyday life.
Over the last four years, she said her favorite teacher was her history teacher Mrs. Walker. Though she disliked the subject, Mrs. Walker made the class enjoyable. This year, Carlock loved her journalism teacher Ms. Reeves. She said, “She was always happy.”
When not in school, Carlock spends a lot of time with her family and bakes. Anyone who has tasted her sweet treats will attest to her talent in baking. She would regularly bring cookies to class parties or events. Carlock is now ready to graduate. Since her first day of freshman year, she has learned so much about herself and matured in many ways, in how she sees her future. But still, she feels like it was just yesterday. She said, “You better enjoy it while it’s there because then it’ll be over. ”
Congrats, Whitney! We can’t wait to see what your future holds. We will miss you so much at The Tiger Times!
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