Carrie Cooper-Randolph revels in the idea of following in her mother’s footsteps in attending Ball State University.

The Morristown High School Class of 2022 salutatorian was accepted into the Honors College at Ball State and will study Biology with a future working goal of working in the genetics field.

“I have always been super interested in science,” said Cooper-Randolph. “I definitely am a science and math kind of person. I think genetic counseling is pretty interesting.”

Genetic counselors review testing results that search for genetic predispositions to certain diseases and cancers, according to Cooper-Randolph, and then talk about the next steps.

To enter that field, Cooper-Randolph will need more than a bachelor’s degree but there is no plan in place just yet for additional postgraduate work.

Cooper-Randolph arrived at Morristown High School prior to the start of her sophomore year. A top-10 student at Shelbyville, she immediately moved into the top two of Morristown’s 2022 graduating class.

“It was a little surprising, but it’s also a lot smaller class (size),” she said. “It was a little surprising and kind of cool.”

Cooper-Randolph went from a graduating class of approximately 250 down to less than 60 and found the learning environment refreshing.

“It’s a much smaller community. It’s a lot closer, more familial than Shelbyville was … Shelbyville is not super big but it makes a big difference,” she said. “Morristown is a small, close-knit community. It was nice to get to know everyone. You know everyone in your class, you know everyone in your school.”

Cooper-Randolph started playing clarinet in the school band in sixth grade and switched to tenor saxophone when she reached Shelbyville High School to join the marching band.

She continued playing at Morristown, performing in the marching band, pep band and jazz band.

“I’m a band kid,” she said with a smile.

Ball State offered her the right environment when she visited the Muncie campus. While comfortable in a bigger school environment like Shelbyville, she continued to thrive in the smaller settings at Morristown.

“As far as state colleges go, it’s not huge,” said Cooper-Randolph. “It is not nearly as big as IU. It’s a nice campus and it’s a little over an hour from home.”

Cooper-Randolph does not yet have her college roommate selected but is required to live with another Honors College student. While she works through that decision this summer, she will continue to work at The Pizza Shop in Morristown where she has been employed since September of 2020.

A fellow employee will attend Ball State as well so Cooper-Randolph knows she will have a friend on campus to make the transition to being a freshman again a little bit easier.

“Being a freshman again, that’s strange,” she said. “At the very least, I have friend, someone I work with, going to Ball State.”

The Morristown salutatorian is the daughter of Angie Cooper and Richard Randolph.

(This is the sixth in a 10-part series highlighting the Class of 2022 valedictorians and salutatorians from the five Shelby County high schools.)