Alexander softball player a national scholarship finalist, seeks migraine cure

Alexander softball player Avery Timmons has worked to balance athletics and academics with student leadership in her four years at the school.

Now, the 17-year-old senior is hoping her hard work will lead to a college education and a future in medicine.

Timmons recently was among 20 Georgia students named state finalists for the Wendy's High School Heisman scholarship.

Her softball team coach, Zack Graham, said he nominated Timmons for the scholarship because of her student leadership work and academic efforts which could result in her being the valedictorian of Alexander's 500-member senior class.

Graham said Timmons was not the most athletically gifted player on the team "but probably was the hardest worker."

"I felt like she deserved some recognition for her efforts to get better ... in and out of the classroom," Graham said.

Timmons, the daughter of David and Dawn Timmons, owns a resume that includes a 4.0 GPA and being the starting second baseman on Alexander's Region 5-6A championship softball team in 2016 and 2017.

The Douglasville native has played organized softball since age 10 and with a summer travel softball team since age 12.

Graham, who is in his seventh year leading the softball team, said Timmons' efforts to field ground balls often included diving to stop them before they rolled to the outfield. 

"She left the field dirty," he said. "She looked like she had rolled in the mud every day.

"There was nothing in her that was half speed. Everything was full speed."

Timmons said, over the years, she learned to balance the time demands of sports and a rigid academic schedule.

She said she is taking seven Advanced Placement classes in her senior year. Advanced Placement, or AP, allows students to take courses considered to be at college level with the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school.

She also currently serves as president or co-president of Alexander's French Honors Society, National Honors Society and Tome Society reading bowl club.

Her goal in college is to major in neuroscience — the study of the brain and nervous system — because of her desire to research and find the cause and a cure for migraine headaches. She said she has suffered from migraines since a TV fell on her at age 10. Medicine doctors prescribed for her since then never gave much relief, Timmons said.

She said she has applied to a number of universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins in Maryland, Duke, Georgia Tech, Emory, University of North Carolina, and others.

Many student-athletes must contend with an often undeserved reputation of being admitted to college solely for their athletic skills, she said. Timmons said she wants to gain admittance to a top university based on her academic work, after which she will try out for the college's softball team.

Eligibility for the Wendy's Heisman scholarship included having a grade point average of 3.0 or better; participation in at least one sport; and being "proven leaders and role models within their school and community.

National winners of the $10,000 scholarship in 2016 included track star Frelicia Tucker of Aiken, South Carolina; and swimmer Daniel Orcutt of Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Source: Alexander softball player a national scholarship finalist, seeks migraine cure