Amya Burns, daughter of Khadijah Hughes and Johnny Burns has been named valedictorian of Gadsden Elementary Magnet School.
Burns has accomplished many things at a young age. She won the school spelling bee for fourth and fifth grade at Stewart Street Elementary. She was crowned the queen of fifth grade, and she was also the district spelling bee champion.
While Burns was a student at Gadsden Elementary Magnet, she was the top student academically for biology, English, language art, and algebra 1 while maintaining a 4.3 GPA.
Burns is the youngest out of four of her mother’s children.
She said her older brother Tahir Montgomery is one of her biggest role models. Tahir was also a valedictorian in elementary through high school and he graduated from University of South Florida two years ago.
Burns said seeing her brother do so many great things academically, pushed her to follow in his footsteps.
Burns’ goal is to dual enroll during high school at Gadsden County High and become the valedictorian of her senior class.
Although she said she’s uncertain about what colleges she wants to attend later in life, she said she already knows she wants to major in architecture.
Jade Vinson – Gadsden County News Service