Potential Magazine Fall 2015 - Alabama Edition | Page 42
teen spotlight
photography by Lauren Childs
stats
17, 12th grade at Saint James School
notable
Varsity Volleyball; Varsity Basketball; Youth Judicial;
Government Club; Fellowship of Christian Students Club
how it began
At Saint James School, Bayley Beasley dominates in
athletics and academics. She was named Best Offensive Player
in volleyball and basketball, is a past recipient of the Lady
Trojan Award, and is a member of the National Honor Society,
National Latin Society and Mu Alpha Theta for maintaining
over a 3.5 GPA.
Seeing her mother put others before herself has been the
biggest source of inspiration for Bayley, who shared that she
sets high standards for herself and just wants to make her
parents proud.
“A lot of people in my family have gotten sick over the past
few years, and my mother took care of them all. Two of my
grandfathers had cancer and another one had a heart disease.
Also, one of my grandmothers died of cancer and another
died of a stroke. After dealing with the deaths in the family,
everything seemed to be getting back to normal until this year
when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Even with
everything she is going through, she still tries to be strong. She
tries to see the best in the situation and has been a real
inspiration to me,” said Bayley.
what’s next
Bayley’s dad and cousins have careers in the healthcare field.
After high school, she sees herself following in their footsteps,
practicing medicine either in anesthesiology or cardiology.
bayley beasley
PG (parental guidance) rating
Montgomery, AL
“I have a lot of family members, teachers and friends who are
very involved in my life and support me in whatever it is that
I want to do. I am very thankful and proud to have that,” said
Bayley.
parents’ perspective
“We have always been a close family,” said Ty. “We’ve done our
best to be good listeners and to be involved as parents.” They both
admire their daughter’s “sense of pride and loving spirit.”
parent-to-parent
Bayley’s parents Ty and Lisa Beasley were each raised to
develop a strong work ethic, give a genuine effort in all
they do, and make college a priority.
“We both lost one of our parents to cancer at the age of eighteen;
and it certainly drove us to make good on our promise to give
higher education a chance,” said Lisa.
When reminiscing on some of the best advice they’ve received
from their parents, they recalled such sayings as: “If there is a will,
there is a way,” “can’t never could” and “count your blessings.”
Their advice to other parents is to hold children accountable, lead
by example, pray for guidance and help them grow in body, mind
and spirit.
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