Valedictorian: Emily Davis, 18

Zalma High School valedictorian

Birthday: April 27, 1996

Birthplace: Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Future plans: To attend Mineral Area College on softball and choral scholarships, and major in elementary education in hopes of one day becoming a kindergarten teacher and a softball coach.

Extracurricular activities: I was a member of Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) all four years of high school; I held an office each year I was a member and was president my senior year. I was a member of the Zalma Concert Choir all four years, as well as the Southeast Missouri All-District Choir, selected each September from students all over the area.

My junior and senior year, I was selected as a member of Quad State Honor Choir. This choir consists of students from Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana, making up an ensemble of 200, hand-picked from a minimum of 1,000 auditions.

My senior year I was named to the Missouri All-State Choir, which is viewed as one of the most prestigious choirs in the state of Missouri, and I am the only person from Zalma to have ever earned a spot in this choir. I have also competed in State Music Festival since my freshman year. I have held an officer position in the concert choir since my freshman year. I have been a member of Dramatic Paws, my school's Speech and Debate team all throughout high school, and two of those years, I was district finalist in Dramatic Interpretation and Storytelling.

I played volleyball during all four years, and was named to the Woodland all-tournament team my senior year. I have been on the Woodland All-Academic team for four years. I played softball my first three years of high school. Unfortunately, my senior year, Zalma did not have a softball team. I was named all-conference my junior year.

My senior year I was a cheerleader and a cheer co-captain. Other activities I was actively involved in throughout high school were yearbook; our school newspaper, the Bulldog Growler; Student MSTA; student council; and Senior Beta.

Dream job: A paleontologist. I have loved dinosaurs since I was a little girl. "Jurassic Park" is my go-to movie. I would love to be able to pursue a job where I get to study dinosaurs and their history all day long. Going on a dig for dinosaur fossils is my ultimate dream.

Mentor: Gail Payne, our school's kindergarten teacher, who was my second-grade teacher, who taught me how to be a kind, levelheaded, compassionate person. She's the reason I'm going to be a teacher. And my mom, who's not only been my mom, but my music teacher, choir director and best friend throughout the last 18 years.

What are some of the accomplishments your class has made throughout the years? The fact that we actually made it. We were the smallest class to ever graduate from Zalma, all SEVEN of us. And we constantly had kids coming in and out of our class, and we always liked to brag that if we didn't like you, we'd find a way to root you out. We were what I liked to call close strangers: We didn't really like each other, but we liked each other enough to know that we just wanted each other, and no one else, to be a part of our class.

What are some of your best or worst memories of your class in the past 12 years? Every class meeting we had that turned into a fight. You wouldn't think that with just seven kids that there would be many problems, but when it came to making decisions, either none of us cared at all, or we all had a say. Planning our junior prom, all seven of us attending our senior prom, and every homecoming when we'd all come together to work on the homecoming wall -- those are my best memories. Not to mention graduation, and the day we took senior group pictures. Most senior classes come together at the beginning of their senior year, but by the end of the year have had a falling out and aren't as close. My class never did that. We stayed close and got closer as the year went on. It was really quite remarkable.