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Eufaula graduate Avery Armstrong shines at Duke University
A: Main, news
March 12, 2025
Eufaula graduate Avery Armstrong shines at Duke University
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR,

Duke University in Durham, N.C., is a thousand miles and light years away from Eufaula.

Ranked No. 6 by US News and World Report’s Best National University rankings, it attracts some of the best and the brightest students in the world.

Among them is sophomore Avery Armstrong, a 2023 graduate of Eufaula High School who was one of the most intellectually gifted students to walk the halls of the Ironheads.

Among his many scholastic admirers is retired history teacher Roger Thompson, who felt privileged to have had Avery in his classroom for three years.

Thompson recognized Avery’s potential early on.

“He was in all honors classes. You could tell he took education seriously. Any assignment he was given was done on time and in an outstanding manner, not just in my class but all of his classes,” Thompson said.

Throughout Avery’s elementary and middle school years, he was frequently on the principal and superintendent’s honor rolls.

In high school he wasn’t an athlete but excelled in the classroom and every other area: Oklahoma High School Honors Society, National Honors Society President, Class President (Jr/Sr), Academic Team All-Conference, EHS Chess Club President, Student Council Vice President, EHS Historical Club President.

He participated in a Court Intern program at the McIntosh County Courthouse, collaborating with the judge and bailiff to observe court proceedings.

Thompson is a legend for taking people, students and non-students, around the country and the world.

Avery accompanied Thompson on tours of Washington D.C., Gettysburg and Antietam.

“Mr. Thompson taught me the world is bigger than Eufaula,” Avery said.

Avery applied for many scholarships to help him with college.

“He didn’t have an easy life, but he didn’t let that stop him,” Thompson said.

Among the offers he received was the prestigious Bill Gates Scholarship, a full-ride scholar-ship to any college of his choosing.

“This wasn’t luck,” Thompson said. “He started in his freshman year trying to figure out a way to go to college. He worked on it consistently. He kept his grades up. He has good character. Hard work and determination, he is the epitome of those.”

Avery chose Duke, home of the Blue Devils, winner of five national basketball championships, appearances in 11 Championships and in 17 Final Fours.

It is now in contention for another National Championship, thanks to outstanding player Cooper Flagg.

Legendary Duke basketball coach Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski has been a hero to Avery, and he will have the good fortune of meeting him when the coach will be a guest speaker at one of Avery’s classes.

Avery is having many transformative experiences, and many more will come.

After years of admiring Duke from afar, Avery is now there, where he is majoring in philosophy and political science with the possibility of going to law school.

“I don’t necessarily want to practice law, but it helps you understand the system better, and how the government operates. I would like to pursue a career in venture capitalism, some side of finance or private equity. Money makes the world go round,” he said.

He chose philosophy and political science as undergraduate majors because, “Philosophy allows you to think, to think a little differently, and political science shows how groups work together.”

Outside the classroom, Avery has been accepted into Duke’s Reginaldo Howard Leadership Program.

He also has been accepted by Oxford University, Oxford England, for a six-week program this summer in which he will study philosophy and political science.

He is eagerly anticipating attending Oxford, one of the oldest universities in the world, where its first classes were taught in 1096.

“They teach a little differently at Oxford – one professor to two students,” he said.

But he will never forget his hometown.

He attributes his being who he is to his grandmother, Francile Burnham, his mother Natalie Armstrong and late father Durand West, who passed away in 2009 when Avery was four.

He has many friends and family members in Eufaula.

“Eufaula was a great place to grow up. It’s more than just the lake. There are a lot of good people,” he said.

Thompson says Eufaula schools provide a great foundation for students with high aspirations.

“When Avery goes to Oxford, he will be the third Eufaula High School graduate to go there. Two have studied there, and a third went to Cambridge.

“Right now, we have EHS students on full ride scholarships to Stanford and Columbia and one at West Point, and Avery at Duke. All of those kids are having their education paid for because of their academic efforts.” Armstrong’s journey serves as an inspiration to Eufaula students, proving that with hard work, ambition, and curiosity, the world’s top academic opportunities are within reach, Thompson said.

School Board Association honors Pippenger, Madewell
A: Main, news
School Board Association honors Pippenger, Madewell
September 17, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY - Eufaula School Board President Jeff Pippenger and Checotah School Superintendent Monte Madewell were honored for their contribution to education during the annual Education Leadership ...
A: Main, news
Brace yourself for traffic disruptions
September 17, 2025
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will begin its long-awaited street project on Main Street (SH 9) in downtown Eufaula next week. An ODOT spokesman said traffic control will begin Monday, Sept...
A: Main, news
McIntosh is Candidate for 2025 Miss Indian Oklahoma
September 17, 2025
Miss Janaya McIntosh of Eufaula is a candidate for the upcoming 2025 Miss Indian Oklahoma pageant. The Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women (OFIW) pageants offer young Native American women a chance to...
A: Main, news
Ford holding food drive
September 17, 2025
Ford dealers around the world are joining together to conduct the World’s Largest Ford Dealer Food Drive, now through Sept. 25. The local dealership where you may drop off food is Sam Wampler’s Freedo...
A: Main, news
LEA 2025 Golf Tournament Sept. 26
September 17, 2025
The 2025 Lake Eufaula Association Golf Tournament is just a week away, to be held Friday Sept. 26 at Arrowhead Golf Course, 3657 Main Park Rd., Canadian. Registration is at 8 a.m., shotgun start is at...
A: Main, news
POW/MIA Ceremony is Friday
September 17, 2025
On Friday, Sept. 19 the VFW Post 8798 Auxiliary will host a dinner in honor of soldiers who have not returned home from battle. The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Post dining room on SH 9 east.
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A: Main, news
Lake Eufaula Out of Darkness Walk this Saturday
September 17, 2025
Don’t miss the Lake Eufaula Out of Darkness Walk this Saturday, September 20. Come walk and show your support as locals bring awareness to suicide and how you can prevent it. “Being able to see the wa...
A: Main, news
Flag exchange drive
September 17, 2025
VFW Auxiliary 8798 would like to help you properly dispose of your worn out flags. We will exchange your worn 3x5 United States American Flag for a brand new one. Dates will be shared over the upcomin...
A: Main, news
Tribal Town Spelling Bee Sept. 27
September 17, 2025
The Eufaula-Canadian Tribal Town and the MCN Language Preservation Program will host the 10th annual Mvskoke Language Spelling Bee Competition on Sept. 27 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Eufaula Indian Co...
A: Main, news
Suspect awaits sanity decision in Minner case
By MICHAEL BARNES 
September 17, 2025
When a June 10 headline shook the community—Selby Minner, beloved blues musician and cultural icon, found dead—the shock reverberated through Rentiesville and far beyond. The one arrested for her murd...
Oklahoma Farm Bureau hosts 4th Annual Capitol Camp
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Oklahoma Farm Bureau hosts 4th Annual Capitol Camp
By LaDonna Rhodes Staff Writer 
September 17, 2025
117 FFA and 4-H students from across the state convened at the Oklahoma State Capitol for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s 4th Annual Capitol Camp held Sept. 3 – 4. The camp was an immersive twoday experien...
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