braylen howell
BY ERIC BOYD
There ’ s an arrogance that comes with adulthood — one that makes it easy to dismiss the idea that a 16-year-old could have something to teach adults about life .
At 16 , most of us were focused on keeping the acne at bay or asking someone to the homecoming dance .
Braylen Howell , the youngest member of this year ’ s 20 under 40 , spent his homecoming week in Atlanta working on State Superintendent Richard Woods ’ student advisory council .
There , he took notes on strategies he could bring back and help implement for the Baldwin County School District .
Working in a leadership capacity like that isn ’ t the exception for Howell — it ’ s the norm .
He holds a laundry list of leadership positions : student council representative , state superintendent student advisory committee member , 4-H Northeast district junior board president and senior board member , Milledgeville Kappa League Organization vice president , Beta Club member , Chick-fil-A leadership academy member and junior mayor of the city of Milledgeville youth council .
And he works 20 hours a week at Kroger .
It is assumed but not verified that he also sleeps at some point .
Braylen ’ s accomplishments pale in comparison to the mindset that manifested them .
His resume is both impressive and evident of an underlying determination uncommon amongst his peers .
His term as student council representative and 4-H club president will end eventually , but the work ethic that enabled him to reach those feats likely won ’ t .
Howell is part of GC ’ s Early College Program . As a junior , he already has enough credits to graduate but instead chose to keep taking classes from GMC and CGTC . By the time he ’ s 18 , he ’ ll have associates degrees in general studies and banking & finance .
Right now , he ’ s learning the basics of management , investing and personal finance .
Director of the GC early college program , Dr . Runee B . Sallad , encouraged Howell ’ s class to pursue their associate ’ s degrees .
“ Dr . Sallad is a great person ,” Howell says . “ I owe a lot of my success to her because she keeps
giving us opportunities to take advantage of .”
The Early College Program has been instrumental in his success and presented him with ample opportunities . He says his teachers have broken the norm by consistently offering ways to get ahead like tutoring and extra practice . Even when he leaves their classes , he still feels like he can go back to them for help .
“ You ’ re just building relationships with your teachers throughout the year , and that means so much to me because you always have someone you can go back to for advice or help for a recommendation or anything ,” Howell says .
There ’ s a lot that distinguishes Howell from his peers , but his maturity and work ethic don ’ t exclude him from experiencing the everyday joys of being 16 .
He started driving last year and loves having the autonomy to go get food whenever he wants . He gets animated as he lists off the restaurants he can go to now .
“ When you ’ re downtown , you get that downtown feel ,” Howell says . “ You got the Brick , Velvet , Bollywood , man so much stuff , but then you go up towards North Colombia and you got Zaxby ’ s , Chick-Fil-A , Sonic , Surcheros .”
He also loves spending time with friends watching his favorite anime like One Piece and Naruto .
After completing his associates , he plans on going to college to do ROTC for the National Guard and pursue a degree in finance . Maybe he ’ ll double major in logistics . He hasn ’ t decided yet .
A military background comes with prestige and networking opportunities Howell wants to take advantage of . It ’ s another way he can bolster his resume and gain an advantage on the competition .
He considers mastery of finance to be the key to building whatever kind of life he chooses .
“ If you got your money right , to me , you can go a long way in this world ,” Howell says .
That mindset didn ’ t develop by accident . His upbringing instilled him with the value of financial wellbeing .
“ My mom has always told me from a young age to learn everything you can about money ,” Howell says . “ It ’ s the experiences we ’ ve had because of money . I don ’ t want to experience those same things in my adult life .”
His mother , LaTrina , has been a guiding force for him . The two moved to Milledgeville when he was in the fourth grade after she received a job of-
22 Milledgeville Scene | 20 Under 40 2022