Fitton staffer is HHS valedictorian

Hamilton, Ohio – When Hamilton High School celebrates its commencement exercises May 14, a Fitton Center employee will stand at the head of the class.

Alexis Bell

Alexis Bell – a member of the Fitton Center facilities team since January of 2024 – earned valedictorian honors with her 4.703 grade-point average.

“My mom (Meghan Bell) is a teacher, so education is important to me,” Alexis said. “It’s been my goal since sixth or seventh grade. It feels really good to reach that goal.”

Bell said her hardest classes were pre-calculus and calculus and that junior year was her most challenging. Her 11th-grade day started with AP chemistry before Spanish III, followed by a double period of pre-calc/calc, with an afternoon of yearbook, College Credit Plus English composition and CCP Government.

She mixed in some art electives – including her mother’s ceramics class - among her academic courses senior year, but said she couldn’t coast and still keep the top spot in her class.

“I didn’t have much of chance to relax,” Bell said. “But I’m pretty good at managing my time.”

Fitton Center Facilities Manager Matt Rucker agreed and said Bell is the first valedictorian to work on his crew.

“She could barely read or write when she got here, so we helped turn her around,” he said with a laugh. “No, she’s been excellent from the start.

“Having somebody who is so self-directed makes my job easier. She shows enthusiasm. There’s no task too large or too small for her to handle. She just does her work and you know it’s going to get done and done well.”

Even when that work lies outside her job description.

Early in her tenure, Bell stepped in to operate a follow spot during a sold-out performance with no notice and little training.

“Completely different task in a completely different department than what we hired her to do, and she knocked it out of the park,” Rucker said. “She just saw something that needed to be done and she did it.”

Lest you think Bell is a bookworm who does nothing but work and study, she also: - served on student council; - served as yearbook editor; - has been a member of the National Honor Society; - logged 150+ hours of community service through her church; - plays bass, guitar and piano; - acted as camp counselor for middle schoolers; - was Vice President of the Hamilton High Drama Club; - played the villainous Queen Aggravain in the spring musical, Once Upon A Mattress.

“She gets it done and she gets it, period,” Rucker said. “To make the time to study, to learn, to be the valedictorian is impressive on its own. To do that and to keep a job and to do all her extracurriculars is unbelievable.”

Bell plans to attend Michigan State University in the fall, where she will study forensic anthropology.

She came to the Fitton Center through a placement program started by Chris Connell, Coordinator of Community Outreach and Alumni Relations at the Hamilton City School District.

Aiden Edmondson is another Hamilton High graduating senior working on the Fitton Center facilities team; 2024 Hamilton graduate Alex Johnson continues part time at the Fitton Center while also serving full time as the facilities night lead at Riverview Elementary School.

“Chris sends them to us in great shape,” Rucker said. “They’re all background checked, all trained in basic facilities work and are all hard workers.”

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.

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