By Thomas Sellers Jr.
When May arrives on the calendar, the typical high academic achiever might tell a pair of mis-truths.
That student will say, ‘Oh I didn’t really care where I finished in the rankings.’ Or he or she might lament, ‘I’m going to miss high school. I don’t want it to end.’
For Brighton High School Class of 2021 Salutatorian Jackson Rezach its no problem expressing his real feeling about the May 20 BHS Graduation and his place in the program.
“It feel great to finally get to the end here and know what place I am in,” he said. “The Historian was right behind me the whole time. We pretty much knew Ian (Keith) was going to get that Valedictorian spot. Throughout it all it been a pretty long ride. Just glad it’s finally getting toward the end. It really feels good to have that Salutatorian spot.”
Brighton Historian J.D. Rankin scored a 33 on the ACT. With his mark set, Rezach took the test again hitting the 34 score.
“It definitely felt good because it was the third time I had taken it,” he recalled. “The original time I scored a 31. Then I got a 32 and it finally went to a 34.
“It definitely felt good to go up some more and I believe it was the one in March of last year the Historian made his 33,” Rezach continued. “I pretty much knew no one was going to take it anymore. So it felt good to earn that spot.”
The Covington native said through the friendly rivalry, he has grown close to his peers Keith, Rankin and the others.
I’m really good friends with J.D. and Ian,” he said. “And I really don’t think I would not have taken the ACT anymore if it wasn’t for this little competition. It really help motivate me and get me to where I am. The teachers and our administration definitely helped me as well, but it helped having this friendly competition going.”
The son of Allan and Rachel Rezach will head off to The University of Memphis this fall. He will take the lessons learned in the hall of Brighton High School to the next level. But the 18-year-old acknowledges his road to Memphis and the top of the class at BHS had moments of cruise control.
“I haven’t taken as many AP classes as they have,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been a little bit more laid back. My academics still matter to me, but I try to take the classes I need to take for my future more than necessarily the hard classes.
“I know a big one is AP English,” Rezach said with a smile. “That’s one of the hardest classes here. I took dual English through UT-Martin. I was just trying to get that college credit out of the way.”
Rezach is described as laid back and a person who gets the job done. His interests were not literary. Rezach’s mind was sparked by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“More of a STEM person than English,” he declared, “I’m leaning more toward mechanical engineering but it could go into computer or electronics. I’ve always been fond of computers and that’s been my hobby.”
Rezach witness his father Allan work as a mechanical engineer making cast software and helping create implants for patients spines. He would love to follow in those footsteps but wouldn’t mind craving his own technological path.
“I play a lot of games and I worked at a computer shop for about two years,” he concluded. “It’s definitely something I will look into.”
