Scholar-Athlete of the Week

By Staff
Kim West
Don't be surprised to find Shelby Brownell in a white lab coat some day because despite being only an eighth grader, she has already settled on a career goal.
"I'd like to go to Samford or Auburn for college because of their pharmacy schools," said Brownell, a straight A-student at Russellville Middle Schoool. "For a long time I wanted to be a lawyer but then I got interested in science. My mom has done a lot of pharmacy work, and I think I would like helping with medications and being around people."
Not surprisingly, Brownell, 13, identified science as her favorite subject.
"I like science because it's different and it's always changing," said Brownell, who named RMS gifted and enrichment instructor Sharon Daily as her favorite teacher.
"I like her class because we get to do a lot of Scholars Bowl and other activities. Right now we're doing a simulation of the colonies coming to the New World, and we're divided into three different colonies."
In addition to her classwork, Brownell plays clarinet for the marching and pep bands and also belongs to the softball and volleyball teams.
"We beat Muscle Shoals twice this season in softball but my favoiite sports memory so far happened during volleyball season," said Brownell, who named fellow classmates and twins Rebecca Mitchell and Rachel Mitchell as her funniest teammates.
"We were all on the bus coming back from a game last year and we all started singing along to the same song because everyone knew the words – that was a lot of fun and it was a random moment."
In her spare time, Brownell enjoys twirling, social networking and listening to a variety of music.
"I like to twirl – I've been doing that for seven years, and I want to be a majorette," she said. "I also like talking to my friends on MySpace. I listen to a lot of different music, especially alternative, punk, rock and some country."
She is the daughter of Lee and Debra Brownell and has a younger sister, Chloe, 10.