Clara Taylor didn't expect to win a scholarship. When she found out she'd been selected for the Black Diamond scholarship — covering support at both Shawnee Community College and SIU — her reaction came in three words.

"Surprised. Confused. Unexpected."

She does well in school. She knows that. But she's the middle child of nine — two older siblings, six younger, the youngest in second grade — and the idea that something like this could land on her still hadn't fully registered.

When reminded that students who work hard deserve these opportunities, Clara paused.

"Yeah," she said.

Jimmy Barnett's reaction was different in style but equal in weight. When his $30,000 scholarship to SIU Carbondale was announced, someone in the room told him it was the biggest smile they'd ever seen on his face.

"The entire time that they've known me," he added.

Both seniors graduated from Joppa this spring, carrying scholarship money and plans that will take them in very different directions.

Clara is starting at Shawnee for two years, then transferring to a four-year university to earn a degree in special education. The decision didn't come from a career brochure. It came from her sister, Aubrey.

"She's autistic, and she struggles," Clara said.

Watching Aubrey — and watching several other siblings navigate special education services — showed Clara both how hard the work is and how much the right teacher can matter. She wants to be that teacher.

When asked if she'd come back to Southern Illinois to teach, she didn't hesitate.

"Probably, yeah," she said.

A kid from a family of nine, studying special education because of her sister, planning to come home and teach. That's a complete story.

Jimmy's path leads outward. He plans to study automotive engineering at SIU while developing hands-on mechanic skills — the interest sparked by his uncle, who introduced him to shop work when he was young. His vision is specific: work for a major company as an engineer, run his own shop on the side.

"Working for one of the big companies as an engineer and then having my own shop on the side," he said.

He knows that means leaving. Someone has already told him the work he wants doesn't exist locally.

"I've been told that there's already not really any work for what I want to do around here," he said.

He's ready for that. Nervous about college — he admitted as much — but ready. His mom went to SIU, so the campus won't be entirely unfamiliar. He'll live on campus. He has five siblings of his own, the youngest about four years old. He's the second oldest.

When asked which teachers shaped them most, both had names ready. Clara pointed to Mr. May, her English teacher. Jimmy named Mrs. Goddard first, then Ms. Bellamy — the longtime counselor who retired during Christmas break and whom Jimmy called the most influential person in his school experience.

"The most influential one was Ms. Bellamy," he said.

That tracks with what Dr. Dufour said in a separate interview — Bellamy's impact on Joppa students runs deep enough that they still call her after she's gone.

What both students valued most about Joppa was the same thing, expressed differently. Jimmy put it in terms of structure: a small school means more one-on-one time, more access, more personal relationships with teachers.

"It allows for more one-on-one," he said. "Getting to know the teachers better."

Clara put it in terms of gratitude.

"All the help the teachers gave me," she said.

Two seniors. One heading to Carbondale to become an engineer. One heading to Shawnee to become a special education teacher because her sister showed her what's at stake. Both carrying scholarship money they earned and the quiet confidence that comes from being seen — fully seen — inside a school small enough to notice.