Two Kosciusko youths have left their homes to finish their high school careers, each at a different specialty boarding school — one for the art, the other for math and science.
Tyler Smith is currently in his junior year at Mississippi School of the Arts in Brookhaven. He is the son of Angelina and Henderson Smith and has two siblings.
At an early age, he began doodling when he was bored. As the years went by, however, he found that he wanted to create “something bigger.”
Smith said he began pursuing that dream in the Kosciusko High School Art I and Art II classes, taught by Diane Dixon and Lynn Oliver.
“When I first went to Art I, I did a portrait of a classmate as an assignment,” said Smith.
Dixon showed an interest in his art and asked to see more.
Smith brought in more of his portraits, and Dixon called the recruiter at MSA.
“Both of them saw potential in me and showed me the opportunity I had there (MSA),” said Smith.
“The students of 2019-2020 have shown us much potential for greatness! We are so excited to welcome Tyler to the MSA family," said Suzanne Hirsch, MSA executive director of MSA, said of Smith’s arrival at the specialized school.
In addition to elements of art, such as sketching and proportion, Tyler takes a regular academic load at MSA.
Although exposed to several genres of art, Smith said his preferred form of artistic expression in drawing.
“I just really like to draw,” he said, “If I could, I would have a career in animation.”
Like Smith, Brighton Hutchinson chose to begin her junior year at a state boarding school, the Mississippi School for Math and Science.
The daughter of Joey and Pacey Regan and Tom Hutchinson, she first wanted to graduate high school early. When her mom nixed that, Hutchinson began looking at MSMS.
The fact that it is ranked the #6 high school in the nation and boasting the #1 faculty in the nation weighed heavily on Hutchinson’s decision to transfer to the school. She also liked the fact that it functions as close to a college experience as one can get in high school.
The workload, she said, is quite heavy, but she enjoys being challenged.
“It is unimaginably heavy. One night last week, I literally studied from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. Tonight I have seven homework assignments plus three quizzes tomorrow,” she said. “It’s nice to be doing something different. I like being challenged, but it’s also hard academically,”
Asked what she missed most about attending high school in Kosciusko, Hutchinson responded with a flash of humor.
“Being well-rested!” she said with a laugh.
To her surprise, her favorite subject at the math and science-focused school is English.
“I like Comp a lot. I’m not a good writer and never thought I would enjoy a writing class,” she said.
Despite the heavy workload, Hutchinson said she is able to enjoys some extracurricular activities, as well, with the school offering a wide variety of options.
“There are some sports here, and there are probably 50-60 different clubs to choose from. I signed up for four,” said Hutchinson.
As for visits home, she has been able to head to Kosciusko almost every weekend. Although she spends most of those weekends studying, she said it is nice to just be able to wind down at home.
Hutchinson’s main focus right now is performing well enough to get into a good college.
“Most of the kids here go out-of-state on full rides. I hope to do that. There is no way I’m staying in state,” she said.
Her long-range plan is to have a career in medicine.
“I’d like to do surgery, if everything goes as planned,” Hutchinson said.
