Editor’s Note: Franklin’s Future is a regular feature spotlighting a high school senior in Franklin County and what they have planned for life after graduation.

Vina High School graduate Courtney Watson said she couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend her high school days.

The 18-year-old said she really enjoyed going to a smaller school because she felt like she was able to get to know her classmates and teachers much better than if she had gone to a larger school.

“At Vina, the teachers are able to give you more attention and really talk to you about what you need to learn because there are fewer students for them to have to keep up with,” Watson said. “At a bigger school, I wouldn’t have gotten that kind of attention so I think that was better for me as far as learning goes.

“The students at Vina are all friends because everybody knows everybody else here. I’ve always gone to Vina so most of us have been together since day one and grown up together. That will definitely be strange not to see these people every day once we all go our separate ways.”

To make the most of the time she had to spend with her high school friends, Watson got involved with clubs like Future Business Leaders of America, Fellowship of Christian Students, Students Against Destructive Decisions and Leo Club.

She also found her niche playing sports like basketball, softball and running cross-country.

“Being involved, especially in sports, gave me a chance to get to spend time with my friends doing something we all enjoyed,” she said. “We made so many memories together and I will definitely miss all the fun we had.”

Now that her high school graduation is behind her, Watson is looking forward to her time in college, even though college is something she already knows a little bit about.

“When I was a sophomore in high school, I got involved in the Upward Bound program, which lets you take college classes during the summer so you can get ahead,” she said. “I’ve already gotten 18 hours of college credit through Northwest-Shoals and after my last Upward Bound session this summer, I’ll have 24 hours.”

Watson said being involved in Upward Bound was one of the best decisions she made in high school because being done with her first year of college takes a lot of stress off of her and her parents.

“It’s great for my parents because my first year of college is already completely paid for,” she said. “It’s great for me, too, because I feel like I know what’s going on and I know what to expect, even though I’ll be going to a different school in the fall.”

Come August, Watson will be a student at the University of West Alabama, which she said seemed like the best fit for her.

“It’s a small college in a small town and I think I would be the most comfortable in a place like that,” she said. “I’m looking forward to meeting new people and having a little more independence.”

Watson plans to major in pediatric medicine – a career path that she said would combine her love for kids and her love for helping others – something that has been evident in her involvement with Grace Baptist Church in Red Bay and her volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity in Hackleburg following last year’s tornado outbreak.

“My ultimate goal is to be a medical missionary in Africa and to live there for several years,” she said. “I know Africa is a long way from Franklin County, Ala., but I think it would be great to take care of the children there and know that I’m making a real difference.”

Until her dream of helping children in Africa becomes a reality, Watson said she hoped to get a job at a hospital once she graduates with her degree.

“I would hope that the job would allow me to live in a smaller place because I like being somewhere that people know who you are and know your name,” she said, “but we’ll just see where life takes me.”

Watson is the daughter of Steven and Teresa Watson. She has one younger brother, Cody.