Kirby Vinson and mom, Bejie

From the desk of Ginger Bell, Director of Family and Alumni Relations:  Kirby Vinson, ’13, recently reflected on her time at Brook Hill and her words speak volumes about why and how Brook Hill makes a difference.

Kirby left Brook Hill for Texas A&M after spending her middle and upper school years with us.  She came to Brook Hill because she was searching for more opportunities to be involved with and wanted to be a part of the Brook Hill family. And she did get involved!  The opportunities for involvement prepared her well to fully invest in her college life, too. She is currently a sophomore Education major at A&M, is in a Christian Sorority called Philadelphia Sisters, is a teaching assistant for a 300 level class, is coaching track at a private school (Allen Academy) in Bryan, and is taking a full course load!

When asked about her Brook Hill teachers’ impact on her life, she almost couldn’t stop talking!  “I could talk about the teachers at Brook Hill all day. Mr. Payne…found the way that I found worth and catered to that. I also had many mornings spent in Don Smith’s classroom just listening to his wisdom and contagious laugh. Mrs. Bunn always gave me the honest answer and is the main reason I enjoy grammar today. Mrs. Jane Smith always said hello to me in the halls, always seeming to know when I needed it most. Mr. Dement knew my name even before I was in his class, while Mrs. O’Brien always approached class in a quiet and easy going manner. Mr. Travis has fabulous stories. They sometimes seemed like rabbit trails, yet there was always a life lesson at the end.Coach Reed entrusted so many of us with his children, and I learned about Christian parenting from him and his wife. Dr. Ward always made a point to drop whatever he was doing to listen to you. Mrs. Carnes always gave a smiling face in the library and would talk for hours about whatever subject you wanted to address. Mr. Bunger taught me more than just environmental science. He taught me how to be a great citizen and how daughters are to be treated. Mrs. Hayes is the picture of the “cool mom”, and I have always wanted to be her. She helped fuel my fire for mentoring middle school girls. Mr. Ballard taught me how to think outside the box, even when the box was more comfortable. Mr. Nelson always laughed at my jokes and made me feel important. Mrs. Eden was always a listening ear and would listen to any of your struggles. Coach Collins encouraged me to develop my soccer skills despite not naturally being great at it. Coach Moore always had a story, but I learned so many things that were more important than the subject when he subbed. Donna Dean’s voice will be forever ingrained in my head. I always felt welcomed when coming to the front of the school.  There are so many great teachers at Brook Hill that I wish I could thank. Each and every one of them changed the way I am today.”

The counsel she would give today’s students are lessons learned during her time at Brook Hill and reflect the impact the school had on this young lady.  “Listen to your teachers. They know more than you whether you think they do. Respect authority. It will become more important later on. Don’t worry what others think. Their opinions won’t matter in a couple of years. Get right with God. There is no time to waste. Your classes do matter your senior year, but don’t stress about the grades. You will learn more than you ever thought your senior year. Do as many activities as you can. They will prepare you for real life. You WILL have to take college math and English. Listen now so you will do well then. College does not equal happiness. Live in the moment. Be nice to others. People should remember you by that rather than your athletic talent, state championships, 4.0 GPA, 2.0 GPA, how popular you are, or that you made an A on Mr. Travis’ paper the first try. Don’t be afraid to raise your hands in worship. You do it around everyone all day when asking questions in class, why should it be weird in Chapel?”  Such a wise young lady!  And that part about raising your hands in worship didn’t come naturally to Kirby.

She says Brook Hill was the catalyst for helping start her faith journey. Now, it has grown leaps and bounds in college, but it really started in Brook Hill.  According to Kirby, “I learned how to argue my faith from Dr. Ward and learned about other religions from Coach Reed. Chapel was better than I realized. I would give anything to go back and listen to all the chapels I missed the point of. Chapel is the one time in life that you are required to learn and worship Jesus. I wish I had used that time more wisely.”

On a funny note, Kirby had to throw in a little math while talking about the transition from Brook Hill to college.  She said it was for Mrs. Rozell, because she said Mrs. Rozell knew just how much she hated math while at Brook Hill and she wanted to make her proud for its inclusion!

“I graduated Brook Hill with 38 other people. I will be graduating A&M with 10,000. There are 56,000 students at Texas A&M. The organization I was a part of my freshman year was the same size as my grade and the grade above me combined. In perspective, my thirty nine graduates are only 0.06% of the Texas A&M campus. Yet, Brook Hill prepared me for this transition. I learned how to find community and how to find true friends. I learned about how college works and how to prepare educationally. I was given the education I needed. I was also presented with my potential. Mr. Payne showed me how to work hard, Mrs. Hayes taught me how much I could influence others, Mr. Travis and Mrs. Bunn taught me how to use written language to convince, and my many coaches gave me leadership opportunities to see my love for coaching. I also learned about how to have Christ-like character. Mr. Bunger taught me how to be a great citizen, Dr. Ward taught me how to value others, and so many other teachers gave me wisdom throughout my years. I can attribute most of my character qualities today to the leadership of Brook Hill.”

Thank you, Kirby, for sharing your experience with Brook Hill.  As I read it again, I found myself wishing I had the opportunity to experience BH as a student.  I wonder how my life might have been impacted!