The class of 2021 will be graduating on May 29th at Ratliff stadium. This class will be given a speech by their valedictorian Faith Fulbright. Fulbright has been a leading model in the Permian community as she is an all-around active and successful student.

     Faith Fulbright is a member of many different programs at Permian including Academic Decathlon, Business Professionals Association (BPA), National Honor Society (NHS), Texas Scholars, the Cantori Choir, Black Magic, Student Senate, the ECISD Superintendent Advisory Council and the AP program.

     “Permin has given me a lot of opportunities, such as AP courses, which is an accelerated course of learning which will help me with my academics in the future” Faith said. “And even though we had COVID-19 this year Permian has helped keep me social as the isolation of not being at school all day everyday has made me reach out to my friends.”

     Not only has Permian provided Fulbright with a number of opportunities, but she has also been provided with great support from teachers and other faculty. 

     “Many teachers have helped me throughout high school, specifically Mr. Eric Garcia who has provided me with a great amount of support. He was my teacher that I took to the Awards of Excellence banquet,” Fulbright said. “He really knows how to support his students and makes learning fun and it doesn’t feel like we are just reading out a textbook. I have had him for three years, one in World History and the others in Decathlon, and I can tell that he makes an effort to create a personal connection with all of his students.” 

      Alongside support from the school and people within it, Fulbright has also been helped and encouraged by other people in her life. 

     “My main supporters have of course been my friends and family,” Fulbright said. “My friends keep me from being too focused on school work and keep it light. On the other hand, my family has kept me focused without being too suffocating.”

     The Fulbright family has expressed nothing but joy and pride in their eldest daughter’s achievements. 

     “We knew very early that Faith was smart, inquisitive and very driven. But there are a lot of kids who embody those same qualities” Faith’s mother Tatum Fulbright said. “We always wanted Faith to pursue other things that interested her, like choir and Decathlon, and we weren’t sure  if she could balance all of that with the complete dedication it takes to finish at the top. But she did it, and we are so incredibly proud of her” Mrs. Fulbright said. 

     Faith Fulbright’s list of achievements is quite impressive as she has been deemed a  National Merit commended scholar, AP honor commended scholar, competed in at two-state BPA competitions (year 1- parliamentary proceedings, individual speech in business support administration and year 2- business law and ethics), is in the Permian Academic Hall of Fame, the Permian Student Hall of Frame and OC presidents honor role. 

     “I have worked incredibly hard to achieve the many awards that I have, but they will make my future brighter” Faith said. 

  Next fall Fulbright will be taking her academic and social skills she has been taught at Permian and use them in the college setting and beyond. 

     “I am going to the University of Texas at Austin on the 40 Acers Scholarship with a double major in the Plan-two program and their business honor program,” Fulbright said. “After college, I might pursue law school but I might also pursue my business educations. I’ve always been interested in the energy business so I would like to do something that is involved with that.”   

     Although she is very excited about college there are some worries Fulbright has about missing certain parts from her time in high school. 

     “There are a lot of things that I miss due to COVID-19, like being in class with all my friends and the classroom connection,” Fulbright said. “I will really really miss Black Magic for it is what introduced me to performing and helped me get out of my shell. I will also miss Academic Decathlon. Not only is the class period I get to time I can spend with my friends but I can also shut off my brain in a sense because I am not having to learn information that is for a grade, but is for a competition.”

     Fulbrights feels that her experiences at Permian have been able to prepare her for a future that will be successful as she combines the focus, fun and community that was taught to her during her four years of high school.

     “I feel like Permian has treated me really well thanks to great teachers. I have been given great friends and opportunities in social and academic spheres” Fulbright said. “We are very thankful for all of the teachers and adults in Faith’s life who had such a huge impact on her academically and personally” Tatum Fulbright said. 

     Since the very beginning of Fulbright’s academic career, she always had a goal to be number one, yet she still had worries that valedictorian would not be her title.  

     “It is a really good feeling to be valedictorian and it was such a relief when I found out the final results. It has been a validation for all of the hard work I have put in for the last four years,” Fulbright said. “I do know that even if I wasn’t valedictorian I would still be the same person I am now, but it still is a really good feeling.”