This is the eighth entry in the Class of 2024 series.
Bethany Phillips is setting out on a mission to help people improve their diets, one meal plan at a time.
Obtaining balanced nutrition can be a chore for some in a world where time to prepare healthy meals may be limited, or the cost of healthy ingredients continue to rise. But Phillips, Watson Chapel High School’s latest valedictorian, hopes a degree in nutrition dietetics from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, will help her empower the general public to combat health problems such as obesity.
“At first I wanted to be a paleontologist, but my junior year, I had gotten into a class called Foundations of Healthcare,” Phillips said. “Mr. Scott Young (the teacher), he mentioned (dietetics) and I got interested in it.”
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Phillips is planning to follow in the scientific footsteps of her parents, her father a biologist and mother a microbiologist. Both of them work at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson.
At a young age, Phillips was ingrained into Southeastern Conference culture. Her grandfather, Alfred Lewis Sr., who lived in Alabama, was a big fan of Auburn University, yet supportive of her decision to attend Arkansas.
“Once he passed away, I had already made my decision to attend the University of Arkansas, so I was thinking I should go to Auburn to get my master’s degree in honor of him,” Phillips said.
Cameran Faucette teaches human anatomy and physiology — Phillips’ favorite subject because she gets to study the different body systems. She was placed in the class as a sophomore due to a scheduling error while also taking his honors biology class, an unusual pairing since biology is a requisite for the former class.
As Faucette testified, Phillips carried the highest average in both classes.
“Bethany Phillips the student is overall amazing, 10 out of 10,” Faucette said. “A challenging student to teach, if I’m being completely honest. The reason I call it challenging, Bethany has always exceeded that of her peers. I have always, as a teacher, tried to find extensions for a single student while at the same time trying to make sure we’re not leaving the students who are not moving as quickly behind. Bethany probably helped me more than I helped her, if I’m being honest, because I tried to make the course more interesting by making sure she’s not feeling behind because she has to wait on other students. I’m not talking bad about the other students; Bethany just moves a lot quicker.”
Outside of Faucette’s lab, Phillips stayed busy as a four-sport athlete, playing basketball and softball at Watson Chapel and playing soccer and volleyball on club teams since Watson Chapel does not sponsor those sports. She first took on volleyball at Ridgway Christian School, which closed following her seventh-grade year, and would travel to central Arkansas for her club sports while in high school.
“I tend to have good study habits, so before practice I would have two to three hours of study sessions, do my homework and get that out of the way and go to practice,” Phillips said. “On some days where I would forget to do my homework, I would just come back home and do my homework, so there were days I would stay up really late at night.”
As if staying busy athletically wasn’t enough, Phillips also made time for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Key Club, Gaming Club (of which she was president), Beta Club, Spanish Club, National Honor Society and student council. And she was a cheer manager.
“I feel like she has managed her time better than most adults,” Faucette said. “If there was a picture of a model student, Bethany would be that picture.”
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, has called on Bethany Phillips as the next step in her journey. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)