Neelyville High School’s top two 2021 graduates praise their parents for encouraging them to do their best.
Valedictorian Payton Raeann Reinbott is the daughter of Chuck and Traci Reinbott of Poplar Bluff.
Reinbott said, “I want to thank my parents for always pushing me to be the best I can be.”
Salutatorian Derek Jake Izquierdo is the son of Noemi Piedrasanta-Diaz of Guatemala and José Izquierdo of Mexico.
Izquierdo thanked not only his parents but teachers for his success.
The honor student said, he wanted to thank “my parents for always encouraging me and teachers like Mrs. Traci Reinbott, Mrs. Teresa Sheppard, Mr. Chester Hurt, and so on for shaping me into the person I am today.”
Reinbott said, “I have been a part of Beta, FBLA, FCS, the Lady Tigers Softball team and the Lady Tigers Basketball Team. Softball and basketball have been the most because I have gotten to play with amazing groups of girls that have become like my family.” Izquierdo participated in Spanish Club and Beta Club. He attributed Beta as being meaningful to him because “it’s taught me how to be more active in the community and has allowed me to socialize with others better.”
After high school Reinbott will be attending the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, Missouri, where she said, “I plan to obtain an integrated pharmacy degree and masters in business administration. I want to be a pharmacist and later own a pharmacy of my own.”
She is looking forward “to being in St. Louis, which I love, getting to play softball at UHSP, and furthering my education,” but with the move, “the things I will miss most are my friends and family.”
Izquierdo said, “I am going to Three Rivers College to major in psychology to help people and continue my studies later on elsewhere.”
He is looking forward to “expanding my range of knowledge and meeting new people.”
Izquierdo said, he’ll miss most “the memories made during high school and all the people who have been a positive influence in my life.”