Daphne Stokes is focused.
She’s the senior class president at Davenport High School, while also taking concurrent classes at Seminole State College. Even though she’s still in high school, Stokes is working toward an Associate’s degree in Elementary Education.
“I plan to keep going to Seminole until I get my associates and then transfer to a four-year,” she said.
Stokes certainly doesn’t let being from a small town stop her as she pursues her goals. In her freshman year, she was one of a handful of students at Davenport who were approached about attending Central Tech as sophomores. With no honors classes offered at the high school, she jumped at the chance, deciding to study pre-engineering since her father had also studied it at Tech.
The math was far more advanced than what she had been studying, and the classes pressured Stokes in a way she hadn’t experienced before. She ended up studying at Tech for two years.
“It made me feel good to be seeing things that I wouldn’t have seen just being at school,” she said.
However, Daphne then realized that it wasn’t exactly for her.
“I thought I was smart, and then I got there, and they are like stupid smart. Like, one of them (students) got a perfect score on their ACT the first time,” she joked. “I would call myself book smart, but not like technical kind of stuff.”
Going to another school in another place helped Stokes to realize who she was and who she wanted to be. She admits she wasn’t exactly thinking of the academic benefits of taking the Tech courses, saying it was something new and exciting to try, plus it kept her out of drama.
If you ask her, she’ll tell you that she doesn’t think she’s all that interesting, since she mostly focuses on academics. If you talk to her teachers, they’ll say Daphne is a student who will go out of her way to help others.
“Daphne is smart, kind, and reliable, but her willingness to help others helps her stand out from others. There have been many times in her life that she has sought out ways to help others before being asked,” said Davenport Superintendent Danny Acord.
He added that she’s volunteered to help keep scorebooks, run concessions, keep the clock, take gate, and serve as a manager for any coach or team needing help. She’s also been a teacher’s aide and helped students or teachers as needed. Acord said Daphne is kind, even though she’s focused on her goals and has mastered the ability to do that without changing who she is.
“Daphne deserves to find continued happiness! Selfishly, I would love to see her come back to our community to work and raise a family, but as with any of our students, I want them to find the success they are looking for and live happily ever after,” he said.
Her experiences with memorable teachers and as a babysitter pulled her toward education.
Stokes said she had teachers who could “understand the misunderstood,” and helped her when she was struggling.
In Tech, she had a Geometry teacher who showed her a lot of grace. Her first week was horrible -- she hated it and thought there was no way she could do it. Then, she lost one of her friends at Davenport to an accident. A few weeks later, a girl she had gotten close to at Tech died in an ATV accident.
“My teacher just kind of, I don’t know, she was just very uplifting. And she just kind of.. A lot of grace,” she said. “I just feel like, if I could be that to somebody else, someday.”
Stokes hopes to eventually complete a bachelors degree in Elementary Ed and at the moment, she plans to pursue that online. However, she said that could change. Also, she can’t help but worry a bit about the future, especially with a difficult field like education.
“I want to do this. My heart wants this. But my head is like, ‘What is wrong with you? Don’t do it. You’re just setting yourself up for failure,’” she said. “I want to be a teacher… Financially, that’s insane in today’s world, but to me, that’s just what I want. That’s what I’m going to do.” Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in the Senior Spotlight series that will feature graduating seniors from all of the high schools in The Lincoln County News’ coverage area.