Braden River senior snags award

BRADEN RIVER — Although reserved in nature, Tim Parker isn’t one to shy away from a challenge — particularly an academic one.

With five Advanced Placement classes under way, Parker already has a solid grade-point average of 3.97 out of 4.0 possible — or 4.5 when weighted.

And for his accomplishments, Parker has gained national recognition. The 17-year-old senior at Braden River High School recently became a recipient of the National Achievement Scholarship by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Parker is one of only 800 African-American high school seniors to win the award this year.

“I was really happy,” Parker said of earning the honor. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Born in Iowa, Parker spent most of his life in Michigan until he moved to Bradenton with his family the summer before his sophomore year.

“It was a pretty big change for me,” Parker said.

But Parker has adjusted well and now participates in several clubs at school. He serves as secretary for Braden River’s Future Business Leaders of America Club and enjoys the challenges it poses to prospective entrepreneurs.

For a recent competition, Parker and his teammates worked on an entrepreneurial case study in which they analyzed an ailing business and came up with a plan to reinvigorate it.

“It’s pretty fun competing,” said Parker, who joined FBLA after taking a business class his sophomore year. “It’s a cool club. I like the independence (of being an entrepreneur. You’re free to do your own thing and be successful (doing it).”

Parker also serves on Braden River’s Senior Advisory Board, which is tasked with planning senior class T-shirts and the pre-graduation celebration, Grad Bash, among other responsibilities. He also serves as assistant editor of the school’s literary magazine, Mosaic.

Parker said ultimately he’d like to own his own publishing company one day, because he loves writing.
Currently, however, he plans to attend Vanderbilt University, where he probably will study engineering or economics. Calculus, he said, is his favorite subject.

When Parker isn’t busy studying, he enjoys playing video games and listening to music, he said.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].