Jameson Flatt, Prairieland High School’s 2023 valedictorian, said grades have always been important to him, but so have sports and his church.
“Grades were definitely a priority,” he said, explaining that his favorite subject at school so far is studying the past.
“I would say history. Just because of all the lessons that can be learned from it,” he said.
He couldn’t choose between basketball and track as his favorite sport, but said he’s been playing basketball since he was a kid.
In addition, he helped lead his Prairiland Patriots to the playoffs last season for the school’s first basketball district title since the 1985-86 school year.
He was named the Red River Valley Most Valuable Player of the Year for his efforts on the court.
But it’s a path that will take him through college.
He is going to attend Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas on scholarship.
“I’ll be running track there,” he said of earning a four-year scholarship at the Baptist institution.
“I always knew I wanted to go to a Christian university,” he said of his choice after high school.
He added that he is familiar with some people who studied at this university.
He said he also has his own career path.
“I’m going to study kinesiology,” he said. “Then go to physical therapy school to become a physical therapist.”
He said he’s always been active in his home church, and going to a Christian college will continue that path, he said.
He is looking forward to graduating from high school, where he was in the Beta Club, and performing in front of his classmates.
“I hope to remember my school days with the class,” he said.