William Daniel Mullins has been awarded the Governor’s Medallion due to his academic achievements. On May 1, 2013, Governor McDonnell announced an initiative that acknowledges each student graduating with the general education certificate or an associate’s degree concurrent with high school graduation with a Governor’s Medallion. Mr. Mullins is only the third Southwest Virginia Community College dual enrollment student awarded the Governor’s Medallion since 2013.
Daniel, a senior at Tazewell High School, will graduate with an advanced diploma and currently ranks fourth in the 2020 THS graduating class. He will be the first male in the history of Tazewell High School and the second student from THS to graduate with an associate degree from Southwest Virginia Community College while also receiving his high school diploma.
Daniel is the son of Richard and Mary Mullins of Tazewell. His paternal grandparents are Rich and Arwon Mullins of Abingdon. His maternal grandparents are Ronnie and Myrtle Daniels of Grundy. He is the great grandson of Eunice Keen of Grundy.
Daniel is a member of the Future Business Leaders of America, where he has served in a variety of officer roles at the local, regional, and state levels. As a member of FBLA, Daniel has exhibited leadership roles not only as an officer, but by conducting workshops at conferences, serving on various committees, and through his success in competitive events. Over the years, Daniel has placed in a range of events including web page creation, graphic design, word processing, and community service project. He has qualified for state competition in Reston, Virginia, each year as well as national competition in Anaheim, California, and Baltimore, Maryland. Daniel has received the Future, Business, and Leader levels of the Business Achievement Awards. Recently, he received first place in Broadcast Journalism at the regional level qualifying him to compete at the state conference. He plans to compete in the national conference virtually in June.
In addition to his participation in FBLA, Daniel is an active member of Teens for Christ, CADRE (Commonwealth Alliance for Drug Resistance Education), the Green T chorus, the swim team, and his church youth group. Daniel auditioned and was selected for the Region VII All-District Chorus and performed at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in February. As the president for Teens for Christ, Daniel has conducted weekly meetings, events, and youth rallies. As a member of CADRE, Daniel has helped educate others about the importance of remaining drug free as well as participating in community service projects. As a member of the swim team, he has qualified for the state championship meet for the past four years and this year became the first male swimmer in the school’s history to reach the podium in the 100-yard butterfly.
Daniel excels in his business courses and was the first student at Tazewell High School to receive Microsoft Office Word Expert certification. He is also certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist in PowerPoint and Excel. Additionally, he is certified in Workplace Readiness Skills and W!SE Financial Literacy.
Daniel has also obtained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement attainable in the Scouts BSA program. In addition to his academic prowess and involvement with organizations and sports, he is employed as a lifeguard at the Four Seasons YMCA.
Daniel began taking classes at Southwest Virginia Community College as a high school sophomore. He was recently inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and named to the Dean’s List. Daniel will continue his education at Bluefield College.