At the end of her sophomore year, much to our surprise, our daughter casually informed us that she would not be returning to high school the following year; instead she planned to finish at middle college. Just as she’d declared — and in true Savannah fashion– she went on to earn an Associate’s degree a week before her high school graduation.
On a whim the spring before her dual graduations, we toured the University of Alabama (UA.) As we expected, even though she’d applied, was accepted and awarded a merit scholarship, the out-of-state tuition was still too steep for us to seriously consider.
Determined to attend an SEC school, she reluctantly committed to the University of Tennessee (UT) the following January. For the next few days, she sulked, clearly unhappy with her decision. About a week later, she came to me in much better spirits and announced she’d had an epiphany. She said she realized that when someone tells you “no,” you’ve simply been asking the wrong person. “Really?” I replied.
She went on to explain. First, one of her managers at work had denied her a promotion. Undeterred, she approached another manager—and got it. Then she told me about an email from her high school guidance counselor sent a week earlier. A local UA alumni chapter had expressed interest in speaking with her about a potential scholarship. When Savannah confirmed her interest, however, the counselor coldly replied that the opportunity had passed.
That’s when Savannah decided to take matters into her own hands. She figured out which organization it was and reached out to them directly. The person she spoke with said that he was told she was not interested, to which she replied, “I don’t know who told you that, but Alabama is absolutely my top choice and I am most definitely interested.”
Her tenacity paid off. She was interviewed over Zoom by a panel of individuals and absolutely crushed it. She made it clear that if awarded the scholarship—though the amount was still unknown—she would choose UA over UT. Within a week, she received the call with the good news. “Ecstatic” doesn’t begin to describe her new disposition.
A few days later, Savannah told us that we were to attend a banquet held in honor of scholarship recipients. At this point, I decided it might be wise to look into this organization. I located the East Tennessee Chapter, University of Alabama National Alumni Association (ETUA) on social media and discovered that the person Savannah had initially spoken to (and had been having multiple conversations with since) was a retired Air Force Brigadier General. I asked Savannah how many other scholarship recipients would be attending, to which she replied, “two.” I found all of this hard to believe, but both revelations greatly piqued my curiosity.
Further digging revealed that Savannah was only the fifth Oak Ridger in 44 years to be awarded this, or any, scholarship from ETUA. What we had assumed was a modest opportunity turned out to be something much more significant.
As the day of the banquet approached, Savannah mentioned that she might have the chance to speak, though it wasn’t required. I told her that she absolutely should and encouraged her to prepare a few remarks.
At this point, I should tell you that for most of her young life, Savannah rarely and reluctantly engaged with adults. This, as you can imagine, made for frequent, awkward encounters. The day of, once more I encouraged her to, at the very least, jot down a few talking points. She insisted she would just wing it.
The banquet was a lovely affair with dinner, drinks and a room full of Bama alumni. We sat at the front table with Savannah’s sponsor and his wife, both of whom were delightful hosts.
When it came time for her to speak, Bret and I watched on nervously as she took the podium. Not wanting to throw her off in any way, I discretely snapped a few photos but didn’t dare record.
But boy do I wish I had!
We sat in absolute awe as she accepted her award with the poise and grace of a seasoned professional. We had no idea she possessed a natural ease with public speaking. How could we? She owned the room. She was confident, engaging and even had them chuckling at one point. All the while, my mind raced:“WHO are you? Who ARE you? Who are YOU!?!?”
Both as a child and a young woman, Savannah has always done whatever she sets her mind to. This past weekend, at just 19 years old, she graduated from the University of Alabama with her bachelor’s degree in Communications. To say we are proud is an understatement. Savannah, you have endlessly delighted us since the day you were born, and now, as you take your talents to Switzerland, we can’t wait to see the incredible path you carve out next.
Roll Tide!
Trina Baughn 
Congratulations Savannah!!!
Just like her mother, Trina! Thank you for sharing this. I remember being at your house when she was much younger and you had a hard time getting her to just say hello as we arrived. What a beauty she is!