Brynn Martin has spent virtually her entire life at Tri-Valley. She started here in kindergarten and is now a senior in a class of about 85 students, small enough that she can walk the high school hallways and recognize nearly everyone she passes, many of whom have been walking those same hallways with her since they were five years old.

"Most of us have been here since kindergarten," Martin said. "We definitely have grown up together."

Soon, however, Martin plans to leave. Not because she doesn't love the community that raised her, but because she does. Tri-Valley has given her a strong enough foundation that she feels ready to see what exists beyond it.

"I've lived here my whole life," she said. "Why not explore the world?"

Martin hopes that exploration eventually leads her right back into a school. She wants to become a teacher, specifically teaching English Language Arts to middle schoolers, an age group that sends some prospective teachers running the other direction.

"I know people think I'm probably crazy. I love middle school."

She knows because Tri-Valley has already let her find out. During her junior year, Martin became the first Tri-Valley student to participate in a new teaching program at Bloomington Career Academy, which allows high school students to gain hands-on experience in actual classrooms while exploring education as a profession. For Martin, that meant working with sixth graders. She entered the experience thinking teaching might be right for her. She left knowing.

"I was pretty sure I liked it before I went in, but now I absolutely know," she said.

The sixth graders sealed the deal. Martin discovered students at that age were old enough to engage with mature ideas and have real conversations, but young enough to bring an energy she enjoys.

"Sometimes they're a little sassy," she admitted. "But that just comes with it."

The Career Academy also introduced Martin to students from other schools and backgrounds, an expanded world that's been valuable for someone whose own classmates have largely remained together since childhood.

"You can come from all different walks of life, and just come together," she said.

Martin also believes career programs let teenagers test their assumptions about themselves before investing years and money into something that turns out to be the wrong fit. Some of her classmates entered Career Academy wondering whether a field might suit them and discovered it didn't.

"But they learned that from this experience," she said.

Martin learned the opposite. Education fits, and perhaps that isn't surprising. Both of her aunts have worked in education; one was a teacher and is now a librarian, and Martin grew up hearing stories about the students whose lives she touched. Her parents provided another model. Her mother is a nurse, and Martin admires the way she helps people, though she's firmly ruled out following her into healthcare. Blood, she explained, is a problem.

"There are other ways I can inspire people."

She's already been exploring those ways at Tri-Valley. Martin has participated in theater and FFA, where her activities have included food science, agricultural education, and public speaking competitions. She reads voraciously and takes challenging classes, even when high-stakes tests make her anxious.

She's also learned what she values in a school. Teachers, for one.

"We can almost have one-on-ones with them, and they really connect with their students," she said. "I think that's very important, especially for learning."

So does community. Martin talks about homecoming, schoolwide activities, and Friday nights when seemingly everyone finds their way to the football field. In a small town, the school becomes one of the places where everyone belongs.

"Everybody comes together," she said.

Next fall, Martin hopes to attend the University of Arkansas, majoring in middle school education. "The main reason is I want to help kids," she said.

Martin understands that the students who someday enter her classroom will eventually leave it. She won't know precisely where they'll go, any more than her own Tri-Valley teachers can know exactly where her life will lead. But she knows what a teacher can give them before they go.

"You're setting the stepping stones for these future people," she said. "You're giving them the education they need to thrive in today's society."

And before Martin ever has a classroom of her own, Tri-Valley is giving her the chance to learn how.