8th Grader Lillie Reardon Inspires Excellence at Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools Middle

Tuscaloosa City Schools, along with Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa and Child Abuse Prevention Services, highlight and recognize one Inspiring Excellence Student Of The Month from each of the 21 schools in the district during the 2023-2024 school year. Every month, two to three outstanding TCS students will be highlighted in this series.

Students and staff at Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools Middle cheered earlier this year when an 8th grader there was celebrated for the example she sets inside the classroom and out.

Lillie Reardon was recognized in February as the Inspiring Excellence student of the month at TMSM in a small ceremony in her classroom, and praise for the middle schooler was effusive.

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"Lillie is a well-rounded student," one teacher who nominated Reardon said. "She STRIVES for excellence in all she does. She puts so much thought into her work. She does the same with sports."

"Lillie is always positive and respectful to adults and her peers," another teacher said. "She encourages her friends to be their best selves and she always does the same by giving 110%."

Reardon said she was surprised and honored by the award, and as she it from the Big Dawg Dre Day, a DJ on 105.1 the Block and 92.9 WTUG, she said striving for excellence is the best way to get ahead in life.

"If you don't try your best, I mean, how are you going to get what you can get?" she asked. "If you try your best, you can get a great job or you could be President of the US! But if you don't try, you're not going to get that far."

Reardon said she likes to try to push others to give their best, and hopes whether it be on the gymnastics floor, the basketball court, in the classroom or beyond, that she will have her friends' backs and they'll be watching out for hers.

The eighth grader said she hopes to enter the medical field when she graduates, but said she's got so many interests that her career goals could certainly change in the next four years.

For more profiles on the remaining 2023-2024 Inspiring Excellence Students of the Month as this academic year winds to a close, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.