The Chattanooga area's top students represent our best hopes for the future

Megha Patel, valedictorian at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School, says she is interested in pursuing psychology or journalism in college.

Photo by Doug Strickland.

For more than a decade, the Times Free Press has honored each year's area high school valedictorians with a public roll call.

Today, we are pleased to present the photographs and resumes of 99 top graduates from our circulation area in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

As part of our report, we poll the top students on a variety of topics.

Megha Patel

Lakeview-Fort Olglethorpe

• College: Agnes Scott College -- psychology or journalism

• Fun fact: She is interested in pursuing journalism or psychology in college.

• As I graduate from high school, I am most concerned about ...

"... succeeding in college. I feel like a successful life in college, with the balance of the right classes, clubs and just making the most of the experience, will lead me to a very good career that I am happy doing, as well as the personal security that I need."

Sarah Shaw

Girls Preparatory School

• College: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Fun fact: She volunteered for Habitat for Humanity in high school.

• The biggest problems facing my generation is ...

"... apathy. Too often we are so consumed by Facebook, Twitter and texting that we simply ignore the world around us. I am lucky to be surrounded by conscientious classmates who do care. But my classmates are in the minority. The majority of our generation doesn't care. If no one cares, nothing will ever change."

Luke McNeil Brantley

Chattooga County High School

• College: Air Force Academy

• Fun fact: While he enjoys flying, he does not plan to be an Air Force pilot.

• When I look to the future I see ...

" ... a better world. Even in the small town that I live in, I have many friends going off to colleges with high aspirations and similarly high work ethics who have had to overcome many personal obstacles. They have persevered to form themselves into maturing leaders who will positively impact whatever field they may end up in. The experiences from the small field sample that I experienced at my school give me hope for our world as a whole."