Tigers’ Top Two

One played sports, the other supported from the stands and by leading or marching on the field with the band.

Both come from families that stressed the importance of academics. And each figured out what it took to be successful in the classroom, paving the way to collegiate futures that meet their individual interests.

Green Forest High School valedictorian Henry Aguilar-Orellana and salutatorian Brityn Gilliam will share their personal messages to their classmates and others in attendance during the school’s 2025 graduation ceremony, set for 6 p.m. Friday, May 9.

VALEDICTORIAN

Henry Aguilar- Orellana always made good grades growing up, consistently landing on the A honor roll.

But, it wasn’t until attending Green Forest’s graduation ceremony as a member of the band his sophomore year that he really began think about an ultimate goal for himself: eventually, two years later, to become his class valedictorian.

“I’ve always been kind of ahead of my class, but I really didn’t start thinking about going for valedictorian until my sophomore year, because I was just taking whatever classes appealed to me and valedictorian wasn’t really a goal until my sophomore year,” Aguilar-Orellana said.

“I was sitting with the band at graduation and one of my friends said to me: ‘Hey, are you going to be your class’s valedictorian?’ I said I didn’t know, maybe. And then they told me: ‘Why not? You could do it.’ ” That got Aguilar- Orellana to thinking, he said.

“I went home and then thought about, do I want to do it?,” he said. “ I do, but why? And so I came to the conclusion … and I’m going to mention this at the end of my valedictorian speech, one of the reasons I wanted to do it is because my family has sacrificed so much for me. I wanted to show them like: ‘Hey, it wasn’t all in vain. It worked out.’ ” From that point on, Aguilar-Orellana focused on what he needed to do to continue to thrive academically, finishing with a 4.2453 GPA and accomplishing the goal of being at the top of his class. He, along with salutatorian Brityn Gilliam, will give their traditional speeches at the GFHS graduation ceremony.

Aguilar- Orellana said accomplishing the goal of leading his class is monumental for his family, who he said were “ecstatic” hearing the news.

Aguil a r- O r e l l a na lived and attended schools in Green Forest his entire life, but his parents are immigrants. His mom, Bertha Villalta- Orellana, is from El Salvador, and his father, Felipe Augilar, is from Guatemala. Neither finished school, he said.

“Neither of them had the chance to finish high school or get a career like that,” Aguilar-Orellana said. “So, they’ve always stressed on us to do well in school, go to college, get a good job. They’ve also asked us to have a better life than them.”

Aguilar- Orellana said his favorite subject in high school was math, and he even traveled to North Arkansas College in Harrison to take Calculus I, a course that isn’t offered at GFHS.

When not studying academics, Aguilar- Orellana’s focus was the band, leading him to want to major in music education.

“I’ve been the clarinet section leader since my sophomore year,” he said. “This year I had the honor of being the head drum major, and was also a student aide for the middle school band. So, while the middle school band had their class, I was there helping … even directing or giving sectionals at times.”

Aguilar- Orellana said he was involved in the school’s Robotics Club as a freshman, but opted out of the group as a sophomore when he realized he needed more time to focus on his studies.

“The program had been slowly growing, but unfortunately I had to leave it, getting ready for college auditions, scholarship essays,” he said. “My new workload just got too much.”

The band, however, was something Aguilar- Orellana knew he was going to stick with. It helped shape his high school experience, he said.

“It was also my biggest social group, I would say, and something that really helped me grow as a person,” he said. “After going to band, I was able to socialize more and connect more with people … we always call it a family because that’s honestly and truthfully what it is. We all cry together, we all laugh together, we’ve all had good memories together. Those connections will last a lifetime.”

Aguilar-Orellana especially pointed out the connections with Green Forest band instructors Colbey Lawyer and Andy Sinay for helping guide him throughout the years, as well.

“Back a couple years back, my freshman year, we were just cycling through directors,” Aguilar-Orellana said. “We didn’t have any that would really stay. So, when we got our current ones, they actually stuck it through. They helped us improve. And honestly, they really... fueled my passion for music, and are one of the reasons I’m going into it later in life.”

Aguilar- Orellana will be majoring in music education at the University of Arkansas and will be on scholarship as a member of the Razorbacks Marching Band.

He also was one of two Green Forest students to receive the prestigious Gates Scholarship — which was awarded to only 1.56 percent of the more than 48,000 students who applied for it, according to the school.

“I’m currently enrolled at the University of Arkansas, where I will get my bachelor’s in music education,” Aguilar-Orellana said. “Afterwards, I’m planning on getting my master’s in either clarinet performance conducting or music education.

“I’ve planned on working as a high school band director for a couple of years, but eventually I do want to move up to the collegiate level and be either a director of bands or a clarinet professor at a university.”

When he takes the stage at graduation Friday night, Aguilar-Orellana admits he will be a bit nervous giving his speech, one he said has been well thought out.

“It was a little difficult to think of,” he said of his message. “I remember I was sitting on my bed for a while just staring at a blank page because I knew what I wanted to say, I knew what topic I wanted to touch on, I just didn’t know how to put it into words.

“I know 100 percent I am going to be nervous when saying it. I’m not the best at public speaking. But, I am also, at the same time, excited for it.”

SALUTATORIAN

One day sometime around February, Gilliam learned he had reached a goal of being recognized in his class when he found out he was his class’s salutatorian through an impromptu comment.

“When I first found out I was applying for a scholarship, and I was having one of my counselors help me,” Gilliam said. “She said: ‘Yeah, you can go ahead and put on there that you’re Green Forest Class of 2025 salutatorian.’

“So, yeah, it was pretty cool. It was something I’ve worked pretty hard for my whole life, so just to finally see it come, see it fulfilled, it was pretty cool.”

His goal, of course, was valedictorian, but he still realizes the honor he earned, Gilliam said.

“Valedictorian was always the main goal, but you know, some things just didn’t work out the way we ... I decided to take more of the college classes and … Henry — which he probably deserves valedictorian anyway because he’s brilliant — he decided to go the AP route.”

Gilliam finished No. 2 in his class with a 4.12 GPA, completing years of taking his parents’ advice when it came to focusing on education despite a very busy slate of extracurricular activities.

“They were just really proud, really excited,” Gilliam said of the news of his honor. “… They’ve always held me accountable and had really high standards for me. So, they’ve known what I’ve been capable of. And so, yeah, they were just really excited, really proud of me.”

While he was senior class treasurer, vice president of Beta Club, chaplain of the school’s FFA chapter and part of the Youth Alive program, it was athletics that took up a lot of Gilliam’s time as a member of the GFHS football, basketball, baseball and golf programs.

Still, despite practices, games and road trips around the state, Gilliam knew it was his classwork that was going to help give him the future he wants, he said.

“I’ve always been an athlete, and I’ve done all these other things but my whole life, we’ve known that my brain is what’s going to get me places in life,” he said. “So, yeah, for as long as I can remember, my mom has really been on me about keeping on my grades. But, she hasn’t had to a whole lot. I’ve always been pretty driven to keep my grades up because I like to succeed in everything that I do.”

Being successful took a little planning when it came to fitting studying and homework around athletic events, Gilliam said.

“There were times that it was definitely difficult, but for the most part, it honestly hasn’t been like crazy challenging for me,” he said. “I know when I was taking Pre-AP Algebra II, that was a real tough class to juggle because with how much school I was missing due to all the extracurriculars, but other than that, it hasn’t been too bad.”

Gilliam said some of his favorite classes included AP psychology and AP U.S. History, while AP biology was one where he found out that a one-time goal of becoming a dentist was out of the picture.

“That class kind of made me realize that I hate science,” he said.

Gilliam plans to attend John Brown University in Siloam Springs, where he will double major in marketing and accounting with a minor in Christian Ministries and Foundations, he said.

“I’m hoping to be able to get my bachelor’s in three years and then that fourth year get my MBA in business,” he said. “So, that would set me up to really do anything in business that I wanted to. After that, if I get my MBA that fourth year, I could start my own accounting firm right out of college if I wanted to, or I could go get a job at just about any company in the world.”

Gilliam credited many influences that helped shape him in his time at GFHS, specifically pointing out his parents, Shane and Tiffany, and his football coach, Greg Tibbitt.

“My mom has always been my biggest supporter and everything that I’ve done she never misses a beat no matter how busy her schedule is,” he said. “She’s always there for me and always supporting me, always pushing me to be the best version of myself that I can be. …. My dad is always, he’s always right alongside my mom. He’s right there. They’ve been the best parents that I can ask for.

“And then my football coach, uh, Greg Tibbitt, he has been been great to me. He supported me in everything that I’ve done and he always pushed me, always encouraged me to be better, to go take the next step, go above and beyond in everything.”

Gilliam, along with classmate Kayla Lozano, visited the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion on Saturday, May 3, as part of the Governor’s Scholastic Day, to kick off this week’s schedule of senior exams and events leading up to Friday’s graduation ceremony.

It’s a day that Gilliam said he’s looking forward to, not only to receive that coveted diploma, but also to address his classmates.

Opportunities to speak in front of groups, specifically during “Field of Faith” events his family has helped host at the Green Forest football field in the fall, have helped prepare him for that, he said.

“I’m fairly acquainted with public speaking,” he said. “It’s not something that I struggle with. … I’ve spoke a lot, so public speaking isn’t really something that stresses me out, and doesn’t make me nervous really. It’s kind of always been second nature to me honestly.

“And then, just like coming up with the speech, it took me a minute to find the time to actually sit down and start working on it, but once I got it going, it wasn’t too hard to formulate and whatnot.”

That confidence comes from his faith, Gilliam said.

“I give credit to God for everything that I’ve been able to do,” he said. “The confidence, anything I’ve been able to do and all, it comes straight from Him.”