KHS Senior Ethan Kimbrough has been selected to the MS State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. Selected students in grades 11-12 or first year of college serve as members of the State Superintendent’s Advisory Council for a term of two school years. The council’s purpose is to provide a forum for Mississippi’s students to offer diverse perspectives to the State Superintendent of Education. The selected students will act as liaisons between the Mississippi Department of Education and public school students from across the state.
Kimbrough, an honor student at KHS with a 4.0 GPA and an ACT superscore of 34, is an avid swimmer competing with the Shockwave Aquatics Team in Tupelo, MS and is deeply involved in multiple leadership activities including the Mississippi Swimming Athletes Committee, the Alcorn County Community Connections Mentoring Program, the Vex Robotics Team, the ASD Superintendent’s Leadership Team, the National Honor Society, and the US Naval Sea Cadet Program.
During his tenure on the State Superintendent’s Advisory Council, Kimbrough hopes to stress the importance of “developing plans to provide every student with the same chance to succeed and reach their full potential regardless of the school that they attend by ensuring all youth have access to the same educational and extracurricular programs.”
Kimbrough says, “I feel that I can provide valuable insight on the issues facing my local district as well as creative solutions that they have implemented. I have had the chance to experience some of these issues firsthand, and I believe this has provided me with the passion to ensure that every student has equal opportunities regardless of their background or size of their school. Although some schools, including my own, are small and may not receive as much funding as others, it is still important that each area of the state has a voice to express the concerns of the district, as well as share the ways each district is excelling.”
Students from different backgrounds, school sizes and regions in Mississippi will be able to share their opinions and offer advice about educational opportunities and policy in Mississippi with the state superintendent of education. Kimbrough believes his educational experiences make him an ideal candidate to serve on this council. “I have attended schools in two different districts within the state, and I was homeschooled during my early elementary years, so I have multiple different perspectives on the education system in Mississippi. This gives me the insight to compare the excellence in certain areas of each school with the shortcomings in others.”
Following graduation from Kossuth in the Spring, Kimbrough hopes “to attend the United States Coast Guard Academy to major in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. If not offered an appointment at the Academy, I plan to attend a Maritime Academy to major in the same program and later commission into the USCG.” Ultimately, Kimbrough hopes to become a search and rescue helicopter pilot.