Study haul: Driven to excel, Peters and Temples collect academic honors
Sep. 17—Katherine Peters is not surprised by her son's academic achievements.
John Wesley Peters is a senior at Decatur High School, and it was announced this week that he was one of two National Merit Scholarship semifinalists this year in Morgan County. Hartselle High senior Lauren Temples also received the recognition.
Peters scored a 1390 on the Preliminary SAT, which is used to determine the semifinalists, and a 35 on his ACT. He also ranks No. 1 academically in his graduating class at Decatur High.
"Ever since he was little, he has always been into subject matter that was way more advanced than what others his age were into," said Katherine Peters. "I remember when he was in kindergarten, he had this obsession with learning about the Titanic. That's when his teachers knew he was probably a gifted child."
He was a member of the Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program) in elementary school. To qualify for the Duke TIP program, students must have scored in the 95th percentile or higher on a national standardized achievement test.
He is currently the captain of the school scholars' bowl team, a member of the National Honor Society and a captain of Decatur High's cross-country team. His hobbies include playing video games, watching movies and hanging out with friends.
Peters, his brothers, and their dad Clint love to go watch Marvel movies when they premiere at the theatre. His favorite subjects are government, history and literature.
"During this school year, I'm taking two AP classes through the school and two dual enrollment courses through the University of Alabama," Peters said.
Peters said he started studying for the PSAT test in the ninth grade.
"The school had offered some practice tests during my junior year and some study sessions," said Peters. "I went to those in my free time when they offered them, and then when I was at home, I would look at websites with practice problems and examples and would just really hammer home any topic I wasn't comfortable with."
His mother said the reason her son's work ethic is so strong is his refusal to lose.
"He has a personality type where he cannot relax until he has accomplished everything he has planned to do," said Katherine Peters. "He doesn't like to lose and has a Type A personality which makes him very competitive."
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No. 1 at Hartselle
Just like Peters, Temples is also ranked No. 1 in her class. However, she took a more casual approach to the PSAT.
"Honestly, I didn't even study," said Temples. "I forgot to sign up for the test in the first place."
Despite not studying, she scored a 1420 on the PSAT and also scored a 34 on the ACT.
Temples' mother, Alana, said her daughter has always worked to better herself.
"Ever since she was little, she has made straight A's and has been in the gifted program," Alana Temples said.
Alana Temples said her daughter always strives to be the best at every endeavor.
"She's a big self-motivator and perfectionist," her mother said. "She strives to give 100% effort in every class she takes."
Lauren Temples has been the class treasurer for Hartselle's class of 2022 for the past four years and is also in the National Honor Society.
Math and science are the subjects that Temples loves the most, and she's in the engineering program at Hartselle High.
Temples is also a member of the school's golf team and she said her best score was when she shot a 78 last year at sectionals. In April, Lauren and her teammates won the Morgan County Tournament, which was held at Point Mallard Golf Course.
Her favorite hobbies include baking food, going to the beach and attending Auburn football games with her family.
Hartselle City Superintendent Dee Dee Jones said she is proud of Temples' accomplishments.
"Lauren is very involved with her school and is a very smart student," she said.
Jones said Hartselle City did not have a National Merit semifinalist last year, but prior to that, the system had at least one yearly for an eight-year stretch.
Hartselle City Schools and Decatur City Schools pay for the PSAT practice test so students will be prepared to take the actual test when they become juniors and seniors. — College plans
Neither Temples nor Peters has settled on a career field.
"As far as college, I've been looking at both Auburn and Mississippi State," said Temples. "I've been considering engineering, and both of those schools have great engineering programs."
Alana Temples said her daughter has already been accepted into Mississippi State, but is still interested in colleges like Auburn and the University of Tennessee, where she has thought about studying forensic science.
"I love watching true crime shows and my grandfather is a retired FBI agent, so I would love to be able to follow in his footsteps one day," Temples said.
Peters plans to attend the University of Alabama after graduation but is undecided as to what career he wants to pursue.
"I know that I want to go into a law-related or business field, I'm just unsure of exactly what at this point," Peters said.
He has an older brother who is a sophomore at Auburn University, majoring in communications, and he has two younger brothers who attend Decatur High and Leon Sheffield Magnet Elementary.
Temples has a sister who is a sophomore at Hartselle High.
—wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.