This is the 10th and final entry in the Class of 2024 series.
If there’s one thing White Hall High School Principal Nathan Sullivan will remember about William Donham, it’s his humility.
“You look at the academic achievement, that’s obvious. But his character, his integrity, his attention to the wellbeing of his classmates and his involvement in extracurricular activity, he’s achieved so much, but you wouldn’t know it because he’s so humble,” Sullivan said.
For example, when Donham was asked about his extracurriculars, he mentioned being captain of the chess club. He didn’t mention he was a state champion player.
“Not like schoolwide, but the whole state of Arkansas,” Sullivan said. “Like, he beat grown men. He’s got that kind of brainpower.”
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That brainpower propelled Donham to valedictorian of this year’s graduating class. He gave his address to classmates and their families during a May 17 graduation ceremony at Bulldog Stadium.
Next for Donham is the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, where he’ll major in physics and minor in computer science.
Donham took an interest in space as an eighth-grader, watching plenty of related videos when Earth was shut down due to the covid-19 pandemic. He also likes math, but he wasn’t quite sure how to make a career out of being a math major.
“Combine those two things (math and space), and you get physics,” Donham said, adding he will concentrate on astronomy.
“It kind of made sense to me, all the different unknowns and what not,” he explained. “I like math a lot, pretty good, so I felt, ‘Why can’t I do it?’ All these other scientists do, and they work for NASA. That’s where the computer science part comes in because they do deal a lot with programs, modeling stuff, pulling data.”
Once Donham completes his studies at Arkansas, he surmises he’ll know whether or not he still likes physics. That’s important because he’ll need to consider graduate school if he wants to pursue becoming a scientist.
“I want to have a broad career path,” he reasoned. After all, he says big tech companies love physics majors because they can handle hard work.
That’s what Donham put into his studies at White Hall. His favorite class was Advanced Placement research, taught by Bradley Boast.
“Mr. Boast is the best teacher at White Hall,” Donham proclaimed. “He’s very rigorous in his knowledge of English and what he teaches. You might have a teacher who reads the syllabus and that’s basically as far as they go. Mr. Boast, he studies the syllabus and adds his own and more. All through summer, he’s critiquing the lesson plan and makes sure from August to May what we’re going to be doing and how we’re going to do it.”
Boast’s pass rates on AP exams exceed the national and state averages, Donham said. (“It’s not the students. It’s the teacher,” he credited.)
All the while Donham aced his classes, he made time to help White Hall’s Quiz Bowl team win a regional championship and participated in e-sports.
At Arkansas, he’ll be right at home, rooming with high school classmates Payam Garner, Regan Patel and Austin Long.
Donham is the last of Dale and Sheryl Donham’s four children, but he ranked No. 1 at White Hall.
“I’ve been here five years, and that top spot has gone to some exceptional, exceptional students,” Sullivan pointed out. “William is no different. He’s definitely in that class of top-notch students we’ve produced here at White Hall High School. … Just a perfect role model for what we want here.”
William Donham emerged from the halls of White Hall High School as 2024 class valedictorian. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)