“Senior Skip Day” couldn’t tempt Ariana Peoples to cut class. The Eagle’s Landing High School soon-to-be-graduate wouldn’t even miss school to go on all-expense paid prospective college visits. In fact, there hasn’t been an excuse good enough to get Peoples to miss a school day since kindergarten, which is pretty impressive if you think about it. For 13 years, she has powered through sick days, humdrum days, test days. She has turned down opportunities to sit on college panels and standardized prep classes. While the competitive swimmer likes school well enough, her perfect attendance is more about hitting a mark, accomplishing a goal. And it certainly didn’t hurt her academically, either. Peoples, who scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT and has always ranked in the top 10 percent of her class, has been accepted by 20 colleges, including several of the Ivies.
Q: You really have never missed a day of school in 13 years?
A: I have really not missed a day.
Q: Not even when you were sick?
A: I don't get sick often and when I am, I am not contagious.
Q: Is your perfect attendance something that was always a goal?
A: When I graduated from fifth grade, I got an award for having perfect attendance since kindergarten. Since then, I've just kept my record going. I look at it as a challenge, just to see if I can make it all the way.
Q: Were there ever days when you didn’t want to go to school?
A: Yes, definitely. My mom taught me that you always show up.
Q: What were some of those days you didn’t want to go?
A: Recently, I got offers to visit colleges but those visits were during the week. I had to turn them down because I couldn't miss school.
Q: You still got into some pretty great colleges.
A: In addition to Brown, Cornell and Johns Hopkins, I'm considering Emory, Georgia Tech and UGA. I have to decide by May 1.
Q: Do other students give you a hard time for always showing up?
A: Not really. They know I just won't miss. Some days, they are like, "I am not going to come to school tomorrow." I say, "Well, I'll be here."
Q: Were you alone on Senior Skip Day?
A: Actually, there were more people than I expected.
Q: Is school just your life?
A: School is not my entire life and I don't want it to be. I swim backstroke on the swim team here at school and in the community and in the summer, I compete at the state level. I also swim the 200m individual medley. I want to be an obstetrician and recently, I have done some shadowing at Piedmont Henry Hospital and Kids First Pediatrics. I do a lot of community service and received the President's Volunteer Service Gold Award. I play the oboe in my high school's Symphonic Winds and I participate in a lot of other clubs and activities. I like hanging out with my friends. I think I am a pretty normal kid. In comparison to some of my classmates, I am more relaxed.
Q: Do you like school?
A: I like the classes I am in. I like the students in my classes. Right now, my favorite subject is calculus but that has more to do with the teacher than the subject.
Q: How has going to school every day helped you?
A: Every day, we learn something new and if I weren't in school, I would miss it. Especially in the AP and honors classes, we will have learned something huge and the kids who skip will come back and be one step behind. Showing up is a good habit. When I have a career, I'm not going to say, "I'm not going to come in today."
Q: What do you think those students who skip are up to?
A: I really have no idea what they are doing.
Q: You will have a ton more freedom in college. Do you still plan to go to class?
A: Yes, I still plan to.
Q: One more time. So you really haven’t missed a day in 13 years?
A: I really haven't missed a day. I have gone on school field trips but that counts.
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