Tomorrow’s leaders: Vestavia Hills High School seniors prepare for graduation

The Class of 2023 at Vestavia Hills High School includes seniors involved in student government, political campaigns, leadership and future medical professionals.

The Vestavia Voice has highlighted four students who stand out among their peers in this year’s graduating class.

Rylen Dempsey

When the world shifted to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, it served as a “launchpad” for Rylen Dempsey.

Dempsey went to work for President Joe Biden’s inaugural committee. If he had to work in person, he might have been confused for a lowly intern instead of someone responsible for the committee’s digital work.

“When you’re a Slack icon or on Google Meet … it’s a meritocracy,” Dempsey said.

Dempsey is no stranger to the political arena. He has served as director of operations for Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott’s re-election campaign and also worked as director of youth engagement for Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s re-election campaign.

“I think campaigns are the great meritocracy of American politics,” Dempsey said. “Your work is what gets you places.”

Dempsey moved from eastern North Carolina to Vestavia in 2016, when his dad became a minister at Brookwood Baptist Church. Ready for a change of pace, Dempsey embraced the move, he said.

He seized opportunities in Vestavia to get involved at both the civic and philanthropic level, sensing a call to public service in seventh grade. He first worked on former Sen. Doug Jones’s campaign.

“I’m a seeker of information and knowledge,” Dempsey said.

Dempsey said he realized he was born for this work and for leading people, like his father. 

“It’s in my blood,” he said.

Getting out the youth vote in multiple

campaigns was an emphasis for Dempsey, he said.

“If a student votes in the first election in his or her lifetime, they are 50% more likely to vote in subsequent elections,” Dempsey said.

After helping Woodfin win re-election, Dempsey worked in community engagement during The World Games last year. That was followed by his helping Frank Scott, the mayor of Little Rock, win re-election. Dempsey briefed Scott on his public appearances and became interested in memorandums and briefings, he said.

“The key to all of this is showing up,” he said. “This is about showing up and getting work done.”

Outside of the political world, Dempsey has served as governor of the state of Alabama’s chapter of Key Club, which helps young people become engaged with volunteering. While there are opportunities in the political world for him now, he wants to be sure and give back to others as well, he said.

“These are the people I go to church with, see at the grocery store,” Dempsey said.

Following graduation, Dempsey will attend the University of Alabama and hopes to help keep talented young people in the state, in the realm of talent retention.

Whatever career Dempsey may find himself in, he is committed to his now-adopted state.

“I’m choosing to plant here in Alabama because this place adopted me,” he said.

Macy Stoffregen

A desk job was never in Macy Stoffregen’s future.

Her goal is to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist, she said.

“I’ve always enjoyed helping people,” Stoffregen said.

While at VHHS, Stoffregen has served on the RISE committee, been vice president of Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills and was on the cheer team for six years. She plans to attend Auburn University to pursue her medical degree, she said.

Being in Youth Leadership has helped Stoffregen learn about responsibility and leading, she said.

“I’ve had to learn how to be in charge and be a leader,” Stoffregen said.

Stoffregen said she is a big reader and enjoys hanging out by the lakes and going on walks.

Reflecting on her time at the high school, Stoffregen said RISE Day is her favorite day, a culmination of the students’ work for the fundraiser and a time to see how much money they raised to combat cancer.

As she gets ready to graduate, Stoffregen said she is looking forward to meeting new people. She is also hoping to follow in her parents’ footsteps and become a cheerleader at Auburn.

Emma Nunnelley

Emma Nunnelley has spent the past year serving her fellow students as SGA president at VHHS, but she has been in leadership for several years.

Nunnelley first got involved in student government in eighth grade and has served in class leadership positions before moving into the executive branch of the SGA.

Nunnelley has also been on the swim team for three years and serves in Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills. She also writes for The Pillar, the school’s online newspaper.

In addition to her extracurricular activities, she takes almost all honors and AP classes.

“My parents had always encouraged me to pursue challenges,” Nunnelley said.

Nunnelley said she realized she enjoyed public speaking and began talking with teachers about how to further serve her fellow students and community.

Leadership has “opened so many doors for me,” Nunnelley said.

“I really love serving others,” she said.

While Nunnelley pursued dance for a while, stepping away from swimming, she said she now wishes she hadn’t. Being on the team provides fun and good exercise, she said.

“You’re competing for yourself and your team,” Nunnelley said.

Being part of the RISE team each year, which raises money for the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program at UAB’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, has allowed Nunnelley to see the entire school unite behind a worthy mission, she said.

“I’m really grateful for the community in Vestavia because I feel like we do a lot to give back,” she said. “That’s been really cool to see that sense of community really build.”

Nunnelley will attend the University of Virginia and will either minor or major in Spanish and hopefully get into the school of commerce, she said. She is hopeful to continue working in different cultures and in charity work, she said.

Malaika Dsa

Early in her life, Malaika Dsa learned to code. So when she transferred into VHHS for her junior and senior years of high school, she was determined to help other girls learn to code as well.

Dsa started a “Girls Who Code” group at the school and hopes to see it expand into the middle and elementary schools as well, she said. High school girls get a crash course in coding in the group, Dsa said.

Dsa, who also serves on Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills and has been part of competitive science fair clubs, has always been interested in STEM. She said she wants to see more women in the male-dominated field.

In the competitive science fair group, she and others guide students in finding out what kind of science project they want to pursue, assist them with research and help make it aesthetically pleasing. Dsa won at the state science fair in the earth and environmental science category.

Transferring into Vestavia has proved beneficial for Dsa, she said.

“Vestavia has a lot of opportunities for their students that my previous school didn’t have,” she said.

Dsa said she has been told “you can’t do this” in regard to her passions, which only motivates her more.

“It only pushes me to work harder. I want to know how far I can go. I love a target,” she said. “This is the life I want.”

Dsa will attend Columbia University and pursue chemical engineering on a pre-med track.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” she said. “There’s so much about the world I don’t know; there’s so much about myself I don’t know.”