By James Clark
Deep in the Heart of Texas lies the small town of Meridian. It is home to a little over 1,000 residents. Known for its southern hospitality, one Mexican restaurant and the agricultural business, at large Meridian is a small rural town. Take a right turn going north on Main Street and you will land on a county road recently named Yellow Jacket Drive conveniently in honor of the school's mascot, and a result of the creative collaboration of a student body's democratic vote. This is where your unbiased journalist and author of this read graduated 2 years ago.
I decided to pursue journalism my 8th grade year when Senora Carpenter told a Spanish 1 class full of nervous and uneager students, myself included, the importance of understanding culture and the world around you even when it is not in your backyard. I instantly wanted to learn everything about the world and the people who live in it.
Senora Carpenter eventually asked me to join the speech team. The result was my passion for current issues, which created my curiosity to try public debate. The accomplishments from these academic events are what allowed me to attend a private university on a hefty scholarship. With the help of several teachers from Meridian High School I was able to leave town, pursue my education and fight hard for what I believe in. I was a lucky one.
I didn't just have teachers. I had mentors, awakeners, leaders and motivators that allowed me to discover what I was capable of and the barriers I was meant to break. I had my own educational philanthropists.
Even with the guidance of teachers like mine goals of higher education seem impossible to students from small rural areas. Lack of college academic recruiters make students feel unwelcomed to many universities. Lack of funding diminishes and destroys chances for extra academic opportunity and prosperity. Societal expectations and disbelief in personal endeavors make students feel that they should remain stagnant.
I know those facts to be true, because they are the stories that become an endless novel of people in towns similar to where I grew up. It is not that the rural area populous do not want to achieve higher education, it's the fact that regionalism prevents it from happening. Altogether, it seems like there is no one standing up for rural area students and schools.
Similar to how my former teachers believed in me, small rural schools and students across this nation need the same level of encouragement and confidence. Leading to the undeniable belief that students, no matter the location deserve the best education in pursuit of their biggest dreams.#
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