THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 13, 1994 TAG: 9409140666
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Poised at the Threshold
The Class of '95 is roaring to get going in life's race
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
MICHELLE BOYD waited until the last possible moment Wednesday to enter Room 306 for her first class of a long school year.
Morning had come too early for the 17-year-old Deep Creek High senior, ambivalent about starting such a pivotal year in her life.
Over the next 10 months Michelle - or ``Mickey,'' as some friends and family members call her - must perform for one more season as one of Chesapeake's prized female athletes, a forward on the Deep Creek High Lady Hornets varsity basketball team and a shot-putter and discus thrower for the track team.
She also must whiz the SATs, keep up her grades, win an athletic scholarship to a good college and still try to squeeze some fun out of her last bit of high school.
All that, because she's got goals.
Under ``future plans'' on the index card her first-bell teacher, Angela Corprew-Boydasked students to fill out, Michelle didn't hesitate before writing ``veterinarian.''
She's wanted to be an animal doctor ever since she witnessed the miracle of puppy birth as a child in rural Chesapeake.
Goals are good, Corprew-Boyd always says. Too many kids don't have them. She's glad to see that Michelle, her niece, is so focused.
``Michelle is a good student,'' said Corprew-Boyd, an English teacher. ``She thinks on her feet, which is good. Sometimes she doesn't always show it.''
Michelle admits her grade-point average, about a 2.6, could use some work. During sports seasons, she gets tired. It's tough to get motivated to do homework. She wants to do better this year.
``I don't think adults realize sometimes the pressure a child takes on when she is trying to perform for her classmates, for her teammates, for the school and for parents,'' Corprew-Boyd said.
Truth be told, Michelle mostly wants to perform for herself. She remembers the feeling she got as a ninth-grader, one of only two to make the varsity basketball team. And then the feeling when the coach told her that she would start that year.
It was something to be proud of. Something to distinguish her from the masses at Deep Creek.
Three years and three district team titles later, Michelle still drives herself on the court, although she fears that a summer of mostly relaxing has taken its toll on her muscles. She signed up for a weight-lifting class to get her body ready by the time basketball practice starts in November.
``She looks like she can't bust a grape in a food fight,'' said her coach, Otis Etheridge. ``But when you see her playing, she's getting busy. She's tough.''
She has to be. College scholarships aren't nearly as abundant for female athletes as for males. So far, only one school, Norfolk State University, has offered her a free ride for both basketball and track.
Michelle's parents, Pamela and Walter Boyd, both work and make a pretty good living, but they have six other daughters, one already in college. Paying for Michelle's school would be tough.
On the first day of school, Michelle contemplated all that as she shuffled from class to class, greeted old friends and watched out for a younger cousin who was just starting his high school career.
She summed up all her hopes in one statement: ``I just hope to graduate and go to a good college and be happy and have a lot of fun.''
A tall order. ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by Martin Smith-Rodden
Michelle Boyd
by CNB