Seniors ready to turn tassels
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 9, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Valedictorians and salutatorians from Wayne County Public Schools Class of 2015 include, from left, front row: Goldsboro High valedictorian Waverlea Brown and salutatorian N'Dea Celious; Southern Wayne valedictorian Molly Brogden and salutatorian Meredith Futrelle; and Rosewood valedictorian Sara Lewis and salutatorian Anna Cooke; and back row: Charles B. Aycock valedictorian Jacob Naughton and salutatorian Blake Stephens; Spring Creek valedictorian Chad Spurgeon and salutatorian Justin Cianfarra; and Eastern Wayne valedictorian Cullen Tyndall and salutatorian Cameron Dove.
Graduations at six high schools will take place later this week, while students in Wayne County Public Schools have a few more days to go, thanks to make-up snow days tacked onto the original calendar.
Wednesday was originally the final day of classes for students, until six inclement weather days in February left officials scrambling to plug in instructional time for students.
The additional make-up time was taken from three early release days, with four teacher workdays converted to class time. Two of the latter fell on June 11 and 12.
The last day for students, an early dismissal day, will now be Friday. Wednesday will be a full day for students.
The district is graduating 1,268 students from its Class of 2015.
Ceremonies at the six traditional high schools will take place between Thursday and Saturday, with 1,126 diplomas being conferred.
Commencement for the two noon-traditional high schools -- Wayne Early/Middle College High School and Wayne School of Engineering -- were held last month, with 142 diplomas handed out.
Also in those two schools, where students are afforded the opportunity to earn college credit, officials noted that 38 of the 65 Wayne Early/Middle graduates also earned associates degrees from Wayne Community, while 17 of the 77 Wayne School of Engineer earned associates degrees.
The commencement schedule features two ceremonies Thursday evening, one Friday and three on Saturday morning.
Rosewood High School will hand out 131 diplomas at its ceremony, Thursday at 7 p.m. on the Branch Pope Football Field.
Valedictorian is Sara Lewis, who received a Park Scholarship to attend N.C. State University. She plans to study textile brand management and marketing in the College of Textiles.
"I think it will be fun to study and I think I will figure out what I want to do," she said, adding that her options of interest include working for a retail company. "Marketing is the goal."
Salutatorian Anna Cooke will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study economics and biology and also pre-med.
"I would like to be a doctor," she said. "My specialty would be dermatology."
Southern Wayne High School will also hold ceremonies that evening, at 7 p.m. in Kornegay Arena on the University of Mount Olive campus. The school has 230 graduates.
Molly Brogden, valedictorian, said she intends to double major in pre-vet and business at UNC-Wilmington.
"I hope to own my own veterinary clinic in Wilmington," she said.
Salutatorian Meredith Futrelle plans to major in English at the University of Mount Olive in the fall.
"I want to go into publishing, maybe one day be an editor," she said.
Goldsboro High commencement will take place in the school auditorium on Friday evening at 6 p.m., with 110 students graduating.
Waverlea Brown, valedictorian, will attend UNC-Chapel Hill and study biology.
"I want to go to medical school and I want to be a pediatrician," she said.
N'Dea Celious, salutatorian, plans to pursue her studies in criminology at Drexel University. She said she would like to become a crime scene investigator.
Charles B. Aycock High has the county's largest graduating class, with 270. Its ceremony will kick off at 9 a.m. Saturday on Hardy Talton Athletic Field.
Jacob Naughton, valedictorian, plans to attend N.C. State University and study mechanical engineering. Beyond that, he said he is considering going into the Air Force.
Salutatorian Blake Stephens has been accepted at UNC-Chapel Hill.
He said he is undecided about career plans, but "probably something in the business field, something with numbers or a management position."
Eastern Wayne High ceremonies will also begin at 9 a.m. and also outdoors, at Warrior Football Stadium. The graduating class has 250 members.
Valedictorian Cullen Tyndall will attend Duke University as a Benjamin N. Duke Scholarship recipient. His areas of interest include public policy and political science.
"I hope to enter the public service arena," he said.
Cameron Dove, salutatorian, intends to study physics at Davidson College, "and then I think I want to go somewhere and get my masters in engineering," she said.
The Spring Creek High ceremony takes places in Kornegay Arena at UMO at 10 a.m. There are 135 students slated to receive diplomas.
Chad Spurgeon is valedictorian. He plans to study business at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Justin Cianfarra, salutatorian, will study engineering at N.C. State.