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DECATUR, Ill. (AP) — Audrey Walker danced with her male counterpart on MacArthur High School's prom court, flashing a megawatt smile at the cameras and looking for all the world like a typical high school girl.
Looks can be deceiving.
Minutes earlier she'd taken the time to sit with a visitor to the Grand Palace, ask about her day and make her feel less alone.
"Audrey is very caring of others," said Carol Pritts, a life skills teacher at MacArthur. "I've never heard her speak badly of anyone."
Walker, 18, stands out from the 40 other special education students Pritts has for another reason. She's graduating Saturday after four years of high school and plans to attend Richland Community College in the fall.
Her mother, Tammy Taylor, said Walker has done all that's required and is ready to move on. Walker once hoped to become a doctor but has now set her sights on becoming a music therapist.
Her senior year has included serving as water girl for MacArthur's home football games, playing on the life skills basketball team and participating in the Illinois YMCA Youth & Government program through the Decatur Family YMCA, where she worked three mornings a week helping to clean the facility.
Operations Coordinator Jennifer Scribner said Walker was a reliable employee who could work independently off a task list.
Walker said cleaning the building's many interior windows was her favorite job, but "I liked it all."
Taylor said her daughter did fine in school until she got to Stephen Decatur Middle School and "classes began moving too fast for her."
Special education classes let her "take a deep breath and relax more," Taylor said. "I was happy with that."
Pritts said she's seen Walker mature at MacArthur, initially unable to receive criticism without crying to simply needing reassurance now and then.
Upset she did not complete her reading assignment by the end of class last week, Walker looked to teacher Jennifer Fritzgerald, who said, "You're not going to get a bad grade. It will be fine."
First Church of God in Christ is another big part of Walker's life, and she's there virtually every Sunday morning to play the drums for morning worship, even after she stayed up most of the night for her senior prom and post-prom.
"You have to go to church," Walker said.
She and her little sister, Salathiel Buford, 8, are also there for Sunday school beforehand, in part, because their mother is the teacher.
Taylor's late grandfather Harrison Walker was once the pastor of the church, and members include Taylor's great-aunt Evelyn Bond and Walker's godmother, Linda Perkins.
Pritts said Walker doesn't take "no" for an answer very well because her family has always urged her to try.
"The expectations run high in that family," Pritts said. "If Audrey thinks she's falling short, the first words out of her mouth are, 'Please don't tell my mom.' "
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Source: (Decatur) Herald & Review, http://bit.ly/1SBLnOD
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Information from: Herald & Review, http://www.herald-review.com
This is an Illinois Exchange story offered by the (Decatur) Herald & Review.
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