Graduates' plans put in high gear
Fox Creek High School's Michael Adams and Thad Adams started the process Thursday evening at Sweetwater Baptist Church, and it came to a close Friday evening, during a rainstorm at the USC Aiken Convocation Center, with North Augusta High School's Paul Yates IV and Kelly Youell getting their school's official thumbs-up.
Fox Creek's class, with Katie Maner as salutatorian and Becca White as valedictorian, represents a milestone in being the charter school's last seniors to have school on the original campus - a former video-poker parlor on Martintown Road. This year's graduating class numbered 64.
Honor student Lindsay Templeton and several classmates are in Myrtle Beach this week on their senior trip. When asked about her emotions as a graduate, she said, "Mine's relief. I'm happy to be out of school - ready to go to college ... I'm kind of sad, though, that I'm not going to see my friends anymore, but I'm glad to be out. The ones that I was closest with, I'll be sure to keep in touch with."
Lindsay, who is preparing to attend Lander University and major in elementary education, said Fox Creek's unusual campus made for some odd memories. Recalling an event in 2007, she said, "It was funny how we had the bomb threat at school and the only place we could go (for safety) was an actual fireworks stand."
She and her classmates, she said, would have preferred to have been able to attend school in the new campus, which is still taking shape on Shortcut Road, with plans for things to be in operation by the beginning of the 2009-10 school year.
"We're OK, but ... how many kids can say they graduated from a casino? We really wanted to be in the new school, but it's OK."
Completing Friday's activities at USCA's mammoth facility was North Augusta High School's graduation ceremony, which had Tori Seigler as valedictorian and Morgan Fletcher as salutatorian.
The program's unusual elements included a big moment for the family of Rosie Berry, who has held a variety of roles in local schools over the past couple of decades and is assistant superintendent of public schools in Aiken County Area 2. Her daughter, honor student Adeana Marie Berry, was among this year's crop of Yellow Jacket seniors - and honor graduates - and the mother of the house shifted roles for a moment during the ceremony to offer a hug as Adeana stepped forward for her moment in the spotlight.
Adeana is headed for Atlanta to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design's facility there for a major in graphic design. For the moment, however, she is in Myrtle Beach with a few thousand other recent graduates from around the state.
Classmate Chris Ramey, also in Myrtle Beach, said the USCA setting was popular with the seniors. Advantages included having plenty of room for seating, as well as having more room for protection against the rain. He said his plans for the months ahead include heading north.
He is looking to attend Eastern Nazarene College in Boston on a tennis scholarship, and his plans are to major in biology, en route to medical school and a career as an orthopedist.
Among other Yellow Jackets soaking up the Horry County sunshine this week is Darell Curry, a multisport athlete who is looking to play "basketball and maybe football" as a student at Charleston Southern University. He said he plans to major in chemical engineering.
"It really hasn't hit me yet that I graduated," Darell said. "I guess I've got to get used to it and get ready for a bigger life - a whole new world."
