March 20, 2026

Golden Triangle Early College High School senior Aniya Forest, who also attends East Mississippi Community College, has been named a STAR Student by the Mississippi Economic Council (MEC), and for the second year in a row GTECHS math instructor Blair Duke has been chosen as a STAR Teacher.

Forest and Duke will be honored, along with other STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) award recipients, on April 9 during the STAR 2026 Education Celebration at the Clyde Muse Center in Pearl. They will also be listed with the Class of 2026 STAR Students and STAR Teachers.

“It has been a great honor to watch Aniya grow as a student and as an individual during her time at GTECHS. She very quietly leads by example and is an excellent role model for our younger students,” GTECHS Principal Jill Savely said. “We are sad that she is graduating, but excited for what her future holds. It's not surprising that she chose Ms. Duke as her STAR teacher. Ms. Duke puts so much of her time, her effort, and her personality into designing math lessons that are both creative and engaging. Her classroom is one that is simultaneously inviting and challenging; producing an environment where students see first-hand that hard work really does pay off.”

STAR Students are selected based on academic excellence. Both American College Test scores and scholastic averages are compared to determine the school’s STAR Student, MEC Senior Vice President of Foundations Vickie Powell stated in a press release. 

“The STAR program encourages and promotes academic achievement among Mississippi’s high school seniors,” Powell said. 

Duke said that Forest is “more than deserving to be recognized as GTECHS’ STAR Student.

“Aniya is the type of student that every teacher dreams of having a classroom full of,” Duke said. “She is one of the most studious, diligent, and determined students that I've had the pleasure to teach.”

Each STAR Student is asked to designate the teacher who has made the greatest contribution to his or her scholastic achievement for a STAR Teacher award. Forest, who will graduate from GTECHS in May, chose Duke, who teaches Algebra I and II and Geometry at GTECHS.

“It is truly an honor to be named STAR teacher by Aniya,” Duke said. “I know that I am just a small part of her great academic success. It has been a joy to watch Aniya develop and grow over the years. She is truly a STAR who will continue to shine brightly.”

Duke was also selected as the STAR Teacher last year by GTECHS’ 2025 STAR Student Samuel Hollis.

“Math has never been hard for me, but Ms. Duke made math something I could really grasp and understand,” Hollis said at the time. “Another thing about her is that she really cares about her students.”

GTECHS, which is located on EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus, opened in August 2015 and was created through a partnership between EMCC, the Mississippi Department of Education and the Research and Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State University. In July 2021, EMCC assumed administrative control of the high school.

Students enrolled at GTECHS also take classes at EMCC. During their freshman year, they are allowed to take one college course, with the opportunity to take an increasing number of EMCC courses as they progress through the high school grades. Many GTECHS students graduate simultaneously with a high school diploma and a one-year certificate or a two-year associate degree from EMCC in a career technical field or with an academic major.

The purpose of the STAR program is to encourage and promote scholastic excellence among Mississippi students, and to recognize outstanding teachers, according to information on the Mississippi Economic Council website.

More than 600 STAR Students and STAR Teachers will be recognized at the Education Celebration. The top 20 STAR Students – The ALL-STAR Scholars – will receive scholarships and their STAR Teachers will receive awards provided by the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Charitable Foundation.

According to a Mississippi Economic Council press release, the highlight of the Education Celebration will be the naming of the Mississippi ALL-STAR Scholar for 2025 – 2026 school year, who will be awarded a $24,000 Cook Foundation Scholarship.