By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Three weeks after receiving news from the editor of a world-renowned theological publication, Evangel Classical Christian School senior Bailey Vaughn was still having difficulty comprehending her achievement.

“It’s pretty surreal. I don’t think it’s really hit me yet,” 18-year-old Vaughn said on Feb. 22.

In early February, Vaughn learned she would be the first-ever high school student to have her work published in the Christian Research Journal magazine – A widely circulated publication focused on providing readers with intelligent and up-to-date information on a variety of Christian theological topics.

For Vaughn, notice of her thesis’s acceptance into the magazine marked the culmination of more than a year of work.

Like her classmates at ECCS, Vaughn began working on her senior thesis during her junior year. After writing the thesis, which is titled “The embodiment of heroism manifest in Christ,” Vaughn presented it publicly and defended it in front of a panel of school adjudicators.

“The focus of my thesis is that no matter what kind of hero an author tries to portray, they will mirror the qualities that Christ showed,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn’s thesis quickly earned the respect of her teacher, Beth Mitchell, and administrators at ECCS. Mitchell posted some of her students’ work on online Christian forums in an attempt to find outlets for the theses, and drew the attention of the Christian Research Journal’s managing editor.

“She reached out and said ‘I’m intrigued by her thesis, and I’d like to put it before my editorial board,’” ECCS Logic and Rhetoric School Principal Melissa Bell said. “But she said ‘I’m not going to tell them it’s a high school student, because they won’t print it.’

“The editorial board loved the thesis, and then the managing editor told them it was by a high school student,” Bell added. “They couldn’t believe it.”

Vaughn’s thesis is now scheduled to print in the May/June issue of the Christian Research Journal.

The feat earned Vaughn, who is the daughter of Valorie and Phillip Vaughn, a proclamation from Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon during a Feb. 22 City Council meeting, praising the teen for “consistently exceeding the standard.”

“God has blessed Bailey with such gifts, and she has glorified him in her work and service to others,” Handlon said.

Vaughn said she is looking forward to seeing her work in print later this spring.

“It’s an honor to write something for the glory of God and to have it published in such a respected publication.”