As the first half of her senior year of high school draws to a close, Savannah Holcombe, a student at Luella High School in Locust Grove, can only think of one thing — college acceptances.

She has her heart set on both Yale University and Georgia Institute of Technology, both schools that offer her desired course of study — medical missions.

Holcombe has attended Luella since she was freshman and describes her high school career as “different.”

“It’s been really challenging taking on a workload and involved in extracurriculars,” she said. “[Luella] has so many rigorous academic classes and there are so many opportunities to be involved in things, so you are never really bored. It has been challenging, but it has also been rewarding.”

Rewarding as in, skillfully managing her time between holding her position as president of the student body, captain of the varsity cheerleading team, varsity soccer team member and allegiance to many other organizations while maintaining her status as a top student.

Currently, Holcombe’s unweighted grade point average is a 4.0.

Staying afloat of her classes has, however, been a hard-fought battle that she has won, due to the support of her mother and her unwavering faith.

“My mom is my rock,” she said. “I am also really strong in my faith. Knowing that I have a purpose that God has put me for is really comforting to know.”

For rising Luella seniors, Holcombe’s words of wisdom were to balance fun with focus.

“You need to enjoy your last year of high school, but make sure you are staying focused so that your grades don’t slip,” she said. “Keep faith in the things that you know and stay true. Don’t let anyone falter you or make you doubt yourself.”

In her spare time, Holcombe likes to practice calculus problems from her textbooks.