Garrett Suggs liked the idea of a pursuing a career in software development so much, he decided to try his hand at developing a website on his own.

“I learned some things about New Zealand and, for some reason, the country really fascinated me,” he said. “So, I developed a website all about New Zealand. It included history of the country, tourist spots. I coded the website from website from scratch and it worked. It took a long time to finish.”

After just graduating from Trinity Christian School as valedictorian for the class of 2024, Suggs said he will attend Georgia Tech in Atlanta and major in computer engineering.

“It is super versatile,” he said. “The industry is really booming. As a society, we have been moving heavily in the technology area for many years and I feel that field will offer a variety of jobs and challenges.

“It’s a mixture of electrical engineering, which can be a mixture of both hardware and software. I have yet to determine which area I want to concentrate on, but I’m leaning towards software development right now.”

Suggs attributes his scholastic success to “building good habits when I was younger. My parents always told me that if I worked hard, I could play hard, too.

“I got homework and studying done as soon as I got home or in class. That way I had the rest of the day to do what I wanted and that carried over to high school. I always got my work done.”

Also, Suggs said Trinity was like a community where everyone took an interest in each other.

“The classes at Trinity are small and that enabled me to build a close relationship with my teachers,” he said. “They all know me well and I know them well. I felt I could always go to them for questions and they were happy to help.

“And I loved playing basketball and soccer and really enjoyed the chess club.”

While Suggs knows going to college in Atlanta will be a huge cultural shift, as well as getting used to living in a large metropolitan city, he is prepared.

“Both of my parents are from the Atlanta area and I’ve visited many times,” he said. “I have reached out to students in the area who are going to Georgia Tech so we already have a little group who I can hang out with and get started.”