Bully’s Buzz aims to highlight the achievements of students who have gone before us by spotlight Brandon High School Alumni. We are excited to spotlight 1992 Alumn Tonya Rivers as our September stand out Alumni.
After graduating High School, Rivers attended Hinds Community College. Today, she has two occupations that she loves! She is a full time Bookkeeper / Office Manager / Payroll Supervisor for JSI Communications in Pearl, and also serves as the Election Commissioner for District 3 in Rankin County as well as the Chairman of the Rankin County Election Commission ( pictured above). However, her pride and joy is found in her two beautiful, grown, and successful daughters- Ashley and Amber. Outside of her career, Rivers enjoys cooking and baking as she was once a caterer. Now, she treats her friends, family, and coworkers with loads of delicious treats.
As a BHS Alum, she has enjoyed watching the Rankin County School District system grow and improve to give students the best opportunities prior to graduation. She always loved the options found in her time at Brandon. During election season, she provides many BHS students with opportunities to serve in their local area, show the importance of voting, and instill a sense of patriotism into students. She hopes to continue inspiring young minds through her election circuit for years to come.
When asked if she had any advice to give to BHS students, Tonya wanted to say:
“Take advantage of EVERY opportunity that interests you in some way! You don’t necessarily have to make a career out of all of them…but you will discover the many different sides to yourself that you might not have uncovered otherwise! And who knows? One day you might find that life hands you an unexpected turn of events and one of those past discoveries might just enable you to find a whole new path to follow, whether as a hobby, a new career path or just an additional career path. Enjoy the twists and turns of life and never accept the limitations of anything or anyone…most especially yourself, because THE SKY’S THE LIMIT!”
