Waldron Salutatorian, Knauf employee ready to see the world

Haidyn Thompson is a 17-year-old with a plan.

The Waldron High School Class of 2024 Salutatorian has been employed locally at Knauf for a year, currently working in the transportation department. She will lighten her schedule to part-time in August when she enrolls at Indiana University Indianapolis, formerly IUPUI, to study Business Management and International Studies.

“I don’t have a dream job. Wherever it takes me I want to travel,” she said.

Thompson chose the newly-rebranded IU Indianapolis because of its proximity to home which allows her to continue to learn logistics at Knauf and obtain a degree through IU’s Kelley School of Business.

“(IU) has a great exchange program, studying abroad, and I will go to the Kelley School of Business, which is pretty prestigious,” she explained. “And I got good scholarships.”

Thompson joined Knauf, a multinational corporation that specializes in fiberglass insulation, through a work-based learning program that has exposed her at an early age how an international company manages its business.

“I originally started in the sales department and that wasn’t for me,” she said. “Then I moved to operations and then here in January I came to transportation. It’s what I really like.

“It’s more transportation/logistics. I do a little bit of both.”

Thompson knows she wants to expand her horizons and see the world.

“I’ve been stuck here in Indiana my whole life, I want to get away,” she said. “Being at Waldron, I have not experienced any cultures and I want to do that definitely.”

Thompson listed London, Italy and Australia as potential travel destinations for her and won’t rule out a visit to Knauf headquarters in Germany.

“There is potential for me to go next summer to Germany and do an internship over there,” she said.

While at Waldron, Thompson was active in volleyball and as a cheerleader. She also participated in basketball and track and field and was a four-year Student Council member, four-year Sunshine Society member and was involved in Future Farmers of America for two years.

“I made a lot of good friends. I liked all the community things we did. I liked all the clubs I was in and I liked playing sports,” she said.

Thompson is quick to admit she is not a fan of school but understands it is a requirement for her to have the life she desires.

“I don’t like school but I like the options it gets me,” she said. “The business school will open up a lot of doors for me.”

Thompson will visit with family in New York this month and has a trip with friends scheduled next month. Other than that, she will work at Knauf four days a week until her first classes on Aug. 19.

“I meet a lot of people here. I do a lot of good networking,” said Thompson of her time at Knauf. “And I just know what I want. I want to get out of here. I know I can do so much with that (college) degree.”

This is the ninth in a series of 10 feature stories by the Shelby County Post on Shelby County’s Class of 2024 valedictorians and salutatorians.