Congratulations to the Jennings County High School Class of 2016.
The school was brimming with activity May 28 because of the graduation ceremony that morning to recognize the achievements of the senior class.
The class had 307 graduates. Out of all the students graduating from Jennings, 44 percent said that they were planning on attending a four-year college, and 18 percent indicated they were going to a two-year college.
Twenty-two graduates received the High Honors Diploma. In order to qualify, a student must have an 11.5 grade-point average out of a possible 12.
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Owen Land was the class valedictorian, and Anna Mc-Griff and Stefani Williams were co-salutatorians. Kyndyl Olds was the senior class president.
Williams offered words of encouragement to her classmates.
“To me, success can be defined as something intangible. It is loving our future jobs, surrounding ourselves with people we truly care about and vice versa, meeting the goals that we have set for ourselves, even if it takes more time than expected, and never settling for OK,” Williams said.
Fifteen students have enlisted in a branch of the U.S. armed forces. Here is where these young people will be serving:
Quinn Adrian: Navy
Ethan Chandler: Army/National Guard
Caleb Fish: National Guard
Connor Hignite: Army
Lamont Johnson: National Guard
Maxwell Kaser: Marines
Alexis Lawley: Marines
Chase McNicholas: Marines
Desmond Mejean: Marines
Johnathan Murdock: Marines
Cheyenne Raines: Coast Guard
Zachary Sanders: Air Force
Daniel Stidd: Marines
Raymond Wilde: National Guard
Bruce Willhite: Marines
Mary Lynn Whitcomb, Jennings High’s guidance director, noted that the class of 2016 earned more than $200,000 in local scholarships.
“What I remember best about this group is as a whole, this entire class has a lot of potential in life and they were a great group to work with this last four years. They will all be very successful,” Whitcomb said.
Another memorable part of the graduation was the celebration parties that took place afterward. One student, Paul Diekhoff, hosted a party May 29 to celebrate his educational victory. The theme of his party was centered around his experiences in his drama and cooking classes throughout his high school career. Diekhoff also celebrated and discussed his future plans to attend Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky.
