Miller, Gentry finish 1-2 among BHS graduates

Calling it a rivalry may not quite fit the academic competition between Berryville High School seniors Ella Miller and Jarrett Gentry

“I wouldn’t call it a rivalry, I’d call it friendly,” Gentry said.

As with most small-school settings, Miller and Gentry knew they were battling for the top two spots in their senior class.

“Jarrett and I are friends,” Miller said. “We would just joke about it.

“It wasn’t just him and I, either. We were friends with everyone who was in the top three, top five, top six in our class. We were friends with all, and we would all joke around because we all had classes together.”

In the end, Miller finished with a grade-point average of approximately 4.4 to secure the BHS Class of 2026 valedictorian spot with Gentry as the salutatorian with an approximate GPA of 4.35.

Graduation ceremonies will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at Bobcat Stadium.

VALEDICTORIAN

Miller faced an array of obstacles in finishing atop her senior class.

Because of a medical situation, Miller was forced to stay on her studies from home full time for a number of weeks in December and on a part-time basis in January, she said.

“This year, especially, it was important for me to stay on top of my grades because I had quite a few health problems that caused me to miss a lot of school,” Miller said. “For the month of December, I was homebound, doing school online at home. So, it was really hard to have to keep up …”

Miller said she knew ahead of time that she would be unable to attend classes for a while, and worked with high school principal Joey Curtis and assistant principal Jared Wolfinbarger to make sure a plan was in place.

“They helped me a lot during that time,” Miller said of Curtis and Wolfinbarger. “They approved everything and told the teachers what was going on.”

From there, it was up to Miller to stay in touch with her teachers online and through email to stay on top of assignments and exams.

“Some teachers even recorded the lectures for me and put them online so I could access it,” she said.

Miller said she was recovered enough to attend in-person classes part time in January, before returning full time in February.

“I wasn’t back full time,” she said. “I was back, two, three days a week. A lot of time they were half-days because I had a lot of physical therapy and doctors’ appointments, and I had to deal with pain.”

Getting back in the classroom full time was a huge boost academically and socially, Miller said.

“Not being around my fellow students was definitely difficult, but I think the hardest part academically was not being able to ask a question when I had one, like not having the teacher right there to show them my work,” she said. “… That was probably the hardest part.”

Back on campus full time, Miller continued to excel academically, but knew the battle for the class’s top spot was going to be close.

“I knew it was a good possibility because I had been like the top 10 percent of my class for a while,” she said of becoming the valedictorian. “But, I also knew that it was going to be really hard because the graduating class of 2026 this year is very, very smart and academically inclined.

“The differences in GPA is very, very little, so it was something I was shooting for, but I had told myself that I was OK if I didn’t get it.” 

As the spring got closer, Miller said she knew it was a bit of a back-and-forth battle with Gentry for the top spot. Once it was confirmed, excitement took over for her and her parents, Benjamin and Kristie, she said.

“I did a little hoop and holler dance and then went and told my parents,” Miller said of learning she would be the valedictorian. “I think they were more excited than I was. They wanted to go out and tell everybody.”

Part of that excitement was the fact that she followed the footsteps of her other family members who graduated from Berryville, she said.

“It’s pretty cool, especially because my mom, my aunt, my grandma, also graduated [from BHS],” she said.

Next fall, Miller plans to attend Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, to pursue a degree in engineering.

“I won’t get to decide what type of engineering until my sophomore year of college. Right now, it’s just general engineering,” Miller said. “Being a woman going into a male-dominated field, I already have a disadvantage, so I wanted to say that I got an education from a prestigious school and make up for that disadvantage.”

While she was hesitant about the idea at first, Miller said she is now excited about addressing her classmates at Sunday’s graduation ceremony.

“Before I had written my speech, I was like, ‘man, I do not want to speak in front of everybody,’ ” she said. “It’s not because I’m bad at public speaking, or it makes me nervous or anything, it’s quite the opposite. I enjoy it and I’m pretty good at it. I just didn’t know what I was supposed to say to the students I’ve grown up beside my whole life.

“But, now that I have my speech written, I’m actually really excited.”

SALUTATORIAN

When Gentry learned he secured a top-two spot in his class as the BHS salutatorian, his parents, Mindy and Jeremy, did what they likely did for many of his accomplishments, dating back to preschool.

“When they gave me the paper at the counselor’s office, my mom framed it like the next day,” Gentry said.

Earning the recognition was the result of a lot of hard work, but wasn’t necessarily something Gentry said he was focused on.

“It just kind of happened,” he said. “I always wanted to be ranked highly, but it just kind of happened. It wasn’t something I was exclusively seeking after.”

Gentry grew up attending Berryville schools, and graduating with such an academic honor makes the years of hard work and dedication more satisfying, he said.

“Growing up, my parents always knew I had the ability to do well in school,” Gentry said. “They always stressed it. I always knew what I needed to do it.”

Extracurricular activities were important for Gentry. He’s played basketball for Berryville since seventh grade and was also part of the school’s Quiz Bowl team.

He tore his ACL last summer in practice, affecting his senior season, but he stayed as involved as he could, Gentry said, adding that he understood the importance of shuffling activities with his studies.

“I was pretty used to it,” he said. “I think I’ve done it my whole high school career. … I always tried to get ahead on things, and it was never too much of an issue for me.”

Gentry said he will attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville this fall and major in electrical engineering.

“I’ve always heard from everyone that it’s a great field to go into,” he said. “A lot of my friends are doing it as well. I have always been attracted to be able to use math, because I like math, and just to be able to make things and design things. Obviously, it’s a secure field, and I want to have that for myself and my future family.”

Like Miller, Gentry said he was initially hesitant about having to give a speech at Sunday’s graduation. Not anymore.

“I’m excited about it,” he said.

Gentry credits his parents and great-aunt Ann Richardson for their help in motivating him through school.

“My great-aunt, Ann Richardson, she went to UA, worked at the bank for a while,” he said. “My parents didn’t go to college, so to have [Richardson], someone in my family that had taken that route, I look up to her for that.”

Gentry also is mindful of something he was once told by his grandfather.

“I just remember my grandpa saying one time: 'Hopefully you’ll make it to college because we didn’t. Get a good future for yourself,’ ” Gentry said.