Bridgeport News Stories

Bridgeport ISD Salutatorian Soaring to New Heights

Haley Barton credits her teachers and the rigor of classes at Bridgeport Independent School District with fueling her vision to become a pilot. Salutatorian for the Class of 2020, Barton is currently in pilot training in Mesa, Arizona, and engaged to be married.

“Growing up in Bridgeport was a privilege,” the BISD honor graduate said. “The people here are wonderful… I had wonderful resources, wonderful teachers, wonderful instruction and a community that really supported its students. The education that I received at Bridgeport definitely prepared me for entering college, and succeeding at the Air Force Academy.”

Hear More from Haley in This Video

The future indeed looks bright for the 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, and she credits BISD with giving her the foundation to achieve her dreams.

“As long as anyone engages with their studies, puts effort in - they can certainly do well if they go to Bridgeport and end up going to college,” said Barton, adding that “working hard, striving for excellence at all times and never, never settling for anything except your absolute best” were all lessons she learned as a BISD student. 

“The teachers that provided the most value to me were the ones that were very tough and expected a lot of you,” she added, crediting her Spanish and English teachers with preparing her for the future she envisioned for herself.

Barton decided to go to the US Air Force Academy when she was in the seventh grade at Bridgeport Middle School. She was inspired by a Class of 2014 BISD student who got accepted to the Air Force Academy just north of Colorado Springs. Getting an appointment to the Academy involves a competitive process to receive a congressional nomination, in-person interviews, phone interviews, college-entrance exam scores, essays and a rigorous physical fitness test. Barton received not one, but two congressional nominations, and a full-ride scholarship plus monthly allowance. Although she didn’t need a back-up plan, Barton also received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Alabama at Huntsville.

She graduated in the spring of 2024 from the US Air Force Academy with a degree in aeronautical engineering. She originally planned to concentrate on astronomical engineering because of her interest in rocket propulsion and aerodynamics. But the program, she said, was more focused on satellites, payloads and logistics. Instead, she decided to switch her major to aeronautical engineering where she learned a lot about aircraft and fell in love with flight. 

Since graduation, she has earned her private pilot’s license (PPL) and has completed her instrument check ride, making her an instrument-rated pilot.

Barton said her education at BISD provided a strong foundation and taught her skills to be successful, but it was her entire experience at the US Air Force Academy that fueled her desire to become a pilot, and more specifically, a fighter pilot. 

“My time at the US Air Force Academy was the best four years of my life so far,” she said. “There were flyovers of F16s - basically any plane in the US Air Force inventory pretty much once a week. We also got to do many airmanship programs including flying gliders, jumping out of airplanes, powered flight, and all those experiences in total, told me, ‘this is for me!’”

Barton was a part of the senior class at Bridgeport High School that experienced the COVID pandemic. Because of the viral outbreak and resulting school closures, her class missed out on some of the usual senior-year experiences, like prom, as well as her senior tennis and track seasons. Fortunately, the class was able to have an outdoor graduation before they departed from BISD. 

“It just felt like I missed a little bit of the last year of my high school but it was also a great learning experience to kind of roll with the punches and be able to accept change in life,” Barton said. Thankfully, her appointment to the US Air Force Academy came in on Jan. 18 of that year so despite schools closing at spring break because of the pandemic, she knew she had been accepted to her dream college and she knew where she was going.

“That time off actually helped me focus on my physical fitness and just preparing for the Academy,” she added. Graduating outdoors at the Bridgeport Football Stadium became a core memory for Barton, who appropriately encouraged classmates in her salutatorian speech to, “Aim high! Even if you shoot for the stars and fail, you’ll still probably land somewhere really great,” Barton told her classmates.

Barton said basic training was really tough, especially during COVID. “My freshman year was definitely very difficult - isolating physically and mentally. It taught me about grit, how to work hard, how to strive for excellence and how to be a professional. There are so many leaders there that are the epitome of professionalism, excellence and service. I learned a lot. I changed a lot. I grew there and learned how to manage my stress. I learned that it takes a lot of hard work to achieve your goals.”

Barton attended BISD from the first grade through graduation. She said the class that she enjoyed most at BHS was math because it interested her the most and was the class that prompted her to pursue engineering in college. “The classes that challenged me the most in high school were probably AP Calculus and AP English. I just had really good teachers that expected a lot of us - expected excellence - and taught us really well and allowed me to succeed in both high school and in college.”

Barton was involved in a variety of sports and extracurricular clubs and activities while at BHS. In addition to tennis and track, she played varsity volleyball and received Academic All-District honors, was in the National Honor Society, served as Spanish Club President, and also participated in choir and University Interscholastic Math competitions. 

“Growing up in Bridgeport - going to Bridgeport Elementary, Intermediate and Middle School - I made a lot of good friends, and I had a great time. It was a nice small community and a wonderful place to grow up,” she said.During her early years at Bridgeport Elementary, Barton qualified for the Gifted and Talented Program. In middle school she participated in a program called Community Problem Solvers.

“Basically, we tried to solve some problems in our community,” Barton said. “We fixed the traffic at the middle school; we helped patients with dementia at the local nursing home; we implemented a recycling plan and we eventually ended up winning some state competitions and attending some international competitions for that program. It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about public speaking and how to work together and collaborate with people.”

Barton comes by her love for education naturally. Her brother, Cole, was valedictorian of the Bridgeport High School Class of 2018 and attended Colorado School of Mines where he studied engineering. He currently works as a chemical engineer at an oil and gas company.

Their mom, Peggy, works for BISD as a teacher and coach. She and husband, Bart, are extremely proud of their children and the education they received at BISD. 

She was a “helicopter (parent) and didn’t need to be,” Barton jokes. “She would text me when I got a 92 on a test and I would tell her, ‘Mom, you don’t need to worry; it’s okay. You don’t need to be this on top of everything, I’m already on top of it.’”

Turns out, she was right. Barton is one BISD graduate who is flying high and on top of the world.

Hear More from Haley in This Video