Graduated magna cum laude from Foley High School in Foley, Alabama, on Tuesday night, this bright young man has already got his gears in motion for his next big chapter in life! This Fall he will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Florida, where he will get his degree as an astronautical engineer.

Why am I writing an article about such an amazing individual? Because for the past eighteen years my husband and I have had the wonderful privilege of raising him. Not only has our son, Talon, made his father and I extremely proud parents, he has also inspired us in so many ways with his compassion, devotion and eagerness to learn. He has always been selfless, willing to help and assist others without any hesitations, and is simply just an all around phenomenal guy!

I can’t help but to constantly keep flashing back to the very first moment when we got to hold him in our arms right after we gave birth to him. Looking at his sweet, precious face… seems like it was only yesterday. The years have truly flown by! Talon was a very active Cub Scout from the time he was in kindergarten until he was in the fourth grade, participating in den meetings, camp outs, Pinewood Derbies, and so much more. Then, as he got older, he was in the Beta Club in middle school. Throughout his childhood, my husband and I watched our son play sports. Soccer when he was five and six years old, then football every year after that.

Two years ago he even traveled abroad during the summer. It was a school trip lasting eight days. Along with his classmates and his teacher, they were able to tour historical sites in Paris, Normandy and in London. They visited The Louvre Museum in Paris where they got to see the iconic painting, The Mona Lisa by Di Vinci, amongst other great pieces of art. They also got the opportunity to go up the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and then, Omaha Beach where the Invasion of Normandy took place during World War II. While in Normandy, the class got to visit Mont-Saint-Michel. In Amboise, France, they got to see Leonardo Di Vinci’s tomb. After all that, they traveled to London, England, toured the city and even went to Wiltshire to see Stonehenge. The entire trip was quite impressive. Talon took tons of photos and learned a lot from his European experience! Recently, during spring break, he took a cruise with his friends to Mexico for a last “hoorah” before everyone graduated from high school.

With that being said, all the while, Talon has always maintained high performance grades that eventually awarded him scholarships that will help him later to pay for college. Talon has been very fortunate to receive a gracious local scholarship, and with his outstanding academic background, he has also received the presidential scholarship from Embry-Riddle!

As he goes off to college in the Fall, it will be a hard transition as parents to watch him go because no matter what, he will always be our little boy. But, my husband and I can easily rest assure that he will be fine because we are confident of our young man chasing his dream of being an astronautical engineer and turning it into a much deserved reality!

So, we want to take this moment to shine the spotlight on our son for all of his fantastic achievements!

A major congratulations to you, Talon, and thank you for being the inspiring young man that you are!!! We love you!!!  ~ Mom & Dad 

Graduated magna cum laude, Talon Parker…. Class of 2019! Congratulations!!!!