MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Growing up on the southside of Milledgeville was no different for Courtney and Timothy Cartwright Jr. than it has been for thousands of other people who grew up in those neighborhoods over the years.

But despite sometimes adverse surroundings, Courtney and Timothy made good decisions and they stood by them even in difficult times.

Today, the sister and brother team is making a big difference in the lives of many people.

Courtney is a third-grade teacher at Wilkinson County Elementary School, while Timothy, a graduate of Mercer University Medical School in Savannah is a doctor preparing to do his residency at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Courtney and Timothy recently pointed out that their decisions were supported wholeheartedly by their mother, Brenda Cartwright, once a licensed practical nurse, who today is a registered nurse at the veterans hospital in Dublin.

They were raised mostly by their mother after their parents divorced when they were much younger. Nevertheless, their father, Timothy Sr., still is a part of their lives and so are three half-siblings — Jameela Harper, Tiffany Fraley and Tarkee Fraley.

Courtney and Timothy Jr. are both graduates of Baldwin High School. Courtney was a member of the 2006 graduating class, while her brother was a member of the 2009 graduating class.

A party was recently held in honor of Timothy having graduated from medical school.

“I graduated four weeks ago with my medical doctor degree,” said Timothy, proudly smiling as he uttered those words. “I am now a doctor.”

Even Milledgeville Mayor Mary Parham Copelan attended the event.

“I think Mayor Parham-Copelan wanted to piggyback off my graduation story of coming from the southside of Milledgeville,” said Timothy Jr.

Courtney said she and her brother grew up near The Milledgeville Manor Apartments, a high-crime area of Baldwin County.

“We were exposed to lots of things, just like other kids were when we were growing up and who still are exposed to a lot of things in that area today,” said Courtney, noting the neighborhood they lived in was around Thompson Circle and Magnolia Avenue, off Vinson Highway.

Growing up in that area where several gangs reside, Timothy Jr. said he was never directly approached by anyone to join a gang.

“I knew some people who called themselves gangsters, but I was never asked to actually join them in a direct manner,” he recalled. “When you see stuff like that happening, and I had some friends caught up in some of those things, I was still able to keep my friendship with them, but I knew that I had to keep a little distance away from them. The way I was able to do that was that I just studied all the time. I read a lot of books and just lost myself.”

He offered some helpful advice to those already involved in criminal gang activities or to those being coached into joining such groups.

“Life is about choices, and making good choices is always the best way to go,” said Timothy Jr. “I think it’s all about environment and education. I just kinda lost myself in the books. That’s how I was able to stay away.”

Timothy Jr. said family-community support was another big help growing up. 

“When I came home from school there was some structure at home,” said Timothy. “So, I knew I had to get off the school bus and go home and do my homework before ever going out to play basketball or whatever. So, if you have that structure, and you know you have certain ground rules that you have to abide by that kinda helps a whole lot.”

Courtney agreed.

Both Courtney and Timothy Jr. remember well their mother setting up such structure in their lives when they were younger, and today they both admit it paid off in ways they could never have imagined.

“We knew what we could do and what we couldn’t do,” said Courtney.

He and his sister were excellent students in the Baldwin County School District, as well as college.

Timothy Jr. said he knew from an early age what he wanted to become when he got older, even though he admitted that he went through a stage like a lot of youngsters dreaming of maybe becoming a firefighter or a police officer someday.

“I think I was 7 or 8 when I said I wanted to become a doctor,” said Timothy with a big smile.

Courtney has always known she wanted to become a teacher.

“I love teaching children; it’s so very rewarding,” she said.

The mayor said Courtney and Timothy Jr. are shining examples of what young people in Milledgeville and Baldwin County can become if they apply themselves and get a good education.

“The Cartwright family is a loving an warm-hearted bunch of people,” said Mayor Parham-Copelan, noting that she has known Brenda Cartwright for as long as she could remember.

The mayor recalled attending the graduation celebration at the request of her longtime friend.

“At that moment, I couldn’t have been more proud,” said Parham-Copelan. “As a matter of fact, I was just as proud of the humbleness of Shun not boasting at this young man’s accomplishments, but to hear that he had just walked across the stage at Mercer University and received his commission as Lt. Timothy Cartwright Jr. and physician Cartwright — all in the same moment.”

At the same time, Parham-Copelan said she was proud, too, of the fact that Milledgeville now has its third physician who attended the local public school district. She also said she was proud of the fact that Timothy Jr. had excelled above gangs and violence in the community.

“This is a Cinderella story for a mother who struggled against all odds to instill in both of her children that they could be anything that they want to be in life, if they work hard, and be diligent at working towards their goal,” said Parham-Copelan. “As mayor of Milledgeville, I want this story to be an incentive for other young men and women that they can be successful in life with the right guidance. We, as a community, encourage everybody to reach one, teach one, so that we can keep one on the right course to making their dreams come true.”

During the recent graduation ceremony in his honor, Timothy’s wife, Corinne, an admissions counselor at Georgia Southern University’s campus in Savannah and their nine-week-old daughter, Arianna.

Timothy Jr. is going into the field of emergency medicine.

“That’s what I signed up for,” he said proudly.

Asked why he chose the trauma side of medicine, Timothy was quick to reply.

“The practical answer is that in college I knew that I wanted to be a doctor before I ever got to college,” said Timothy Jr. “I knew I had to do certain things before I ever got there. You’ve got to have certain items on your resume, and the biggest thing is going to the hospital and shadowing.”

Timothy admitted that he has never been the kind of person to just sit back and watch somebody else do things.

He said he was offered the opportunity to become trained as an emergency medical technician and he jumped at it.

“I did that because it was a little more hands-on,” said Timothy Jr. “So, I was not only near the medicine, but I was able to do different things.”

As an EMT, he got the chance to interact with emergency room physicians a lot.

“I thought right then and there that these guys are cool; they do cool stuff,” said Timothy Jr. “Ever since then, I knew that’s where I wanted to work – as an emergency room physician.”

Shortly after he attended Mercer University School of Medicine and Emory University, Timothy decided to join the Air Force and is now a commissioned officer.

“I got commissioned in 2014, so I’ve been in the Air Force now, technically, for four years,” he said, noting he joined the military in order to serve the country and take advantage of the scholarship program offered for graduate college students.

Timothy Jr. said once he completes his medical residency schooling at Emory University Hospital that he would join an Air Force unit.

“And if my practice is hospital-based, then obviously, I would go to an Air Force base that has a hospital,” he explained. “My service commitment is seven years. It could become a career for me, I’ll just have to see how that works out for me.”

Courtney, meanwhile, who has been a teacher for the past five years, wants to do 10 years in the classroom.

“I want to the full effects of knowing what it’s really like to be in the classroom as a teacher,” said Courtney. “I like the aspect of being with little people.”

She said she then wants to transition from the classroom and go into a leadership position, possibly as an academic coach or as an assistant principal.

Someday, she said would like to become a principal or a high-ranking administrator.

Courtney just completed her third year as a teacher in Wilkinson County. Her first two years were spent teaching in Macon-Bibb County.