SHELBY COOK ROGERS HERITAGE

The first time Shelby Cook took a chemistry course she was hooked. She plans to make it her life’s work.

“It just made sense to me,” said Cook, who graduated in the top 5 percent of her class at Rogers Heritage High School. “I searched for occupations that involved chemistry and pharmacy is the first thing that popped up. After taking several different chemistry courses it made me want to do that forever.”

Cook will attend the University of Missouri in Columbia and will double major in clinical lab sciences and bio-chemistry. Eventually she plans to apply for admission into the University of Missouri School of Pharmacy.

“I wanted to find an outstanding medical program that was close to home,” Cook said. “It’s a beautiful campus. My dad and I went there for a Arkansas-Missouri football game and nobody knew who I was but they were so friendly. They gave me an unplanned tour of the campus. … I was made to feel at home.”

Cook was the co-captain of the Lady War Eagles basketball team her senior season. She was not much of a scoring threat but that never bothered Cook, who wanted to make sure her impact always stretched beyond the scoreboard.

“My dad was a basketball coach for 20 years,” Cook said. “He coached boys and never coached me, but because of him, basketball was everything to me. … I was never the center of attention, but that taught me selflessness. I was happy doing the other things.”

Cook also volunteered at the Casa Aleluya Children’s Home in Guatemala during the summers of 2014-2017.

“It opened my eyes to see just how blessed I am,” Cook said.

Cook