Kentwood is the northernmost town in Tangipahoa
Parish and is near the Louisiana-Mississippi state
line. The term "parish" is unique to Louisiana
and is equivalent to "county." The name
of the town does not stem from the earliest settlers
who came there in the first decade of the nineteenth
century. Kentwood honors, instead, Amos Kent (1811-1906),
who came to the area about fifty years later.
In 1887, William Gramps Hall of New York came to
the Kentwood area. He was a promoter for the Immigration
Department of the Illinois Central Railroad and
began to develop the cutover land north of Kent's
sawmills into a town. On February 29, 1888, a post
office was established with Hall as its first postmaster.
He is the man who selected the name of Kentwood
for the town.
On March 18, 1893, Kentwood received its charter.
Originally a sawmill town, it is now a center of
Louisiana's dairy industry
Perhaps this Parish's rich history has influenced
our distinguished graduate. This charming, educated
woman is Kami Harrell. Kami loves animals and especially
goats. Kami raises dairy goats for fun and profit.
She is also studying to be a veterinarian technician
at Hinds Community College in nearby Mississippi.
None of Kaimi's plans for the future would be possible
without her high school diploma. Kami earned hers
in January of 2000. She did it by home schooling
with Citizens' High School Curriculum. Citizens'
High School awarded Kami her nationally accredited
diploma, which was readily accepted by Hinds for
entrance into her program of study.
We asked Kami why she wanted to homeschool instead
of attending a private or public high school. Unfortunately,
her answer is becoming all too common. She told
us "The school system is just so poor."
Kami also likes to sleep in a little. With two older
brothers and her goats, we doubt she sleeps in too
long or too much.
Kami completed her requirements for a high school
diploma with a sizzling 3.8 GPA. This factoid speaks
volumes about Kami's maturity, perseverance, and
focus. It is not easy to discipline oneself to crack
the books every day with out the pressure applied
by the "school system." Kami earned her
diploma because she wanted to and because she knew
it was important. She alone applied the pressure
to complete the requirements and she can now take
pride in her accomplishments.
Citizens' High School also takes tremendous pride
in Kami's achievements, We are confident that with
her maturity and discipline, she will achieve great
things throughout her life.
Celebrate with us as we cheerfully proclaim Kami
Harrell our Citizen's High School Graduate
of the Month for August 2001.
