Nearly 1,200 students to graduate this week
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on June 6, 2016 1:46 PM
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Valedictorians and salutatorians were recently announced for Wayne County Public Schools' six remaining high school graduations. Front row, from left, Charles B. Aycock High School valedictorian Caroline Taylor and salutatorian Cameron Cook; Goldsboro High School valedictorian Deja Matthews and salutatorian Na'Shir Bowden. Middle row, Spring Creek High School valedictorian Auston Gray and salutatorian Cassie Alphin; Southern Wayne High School valedictorian Allison Barrow and salutatorian Aubrey Sasser. Back row, Eastern Wayne High School valedictorian Ethan Quinn and salutatorian Collin Nix; and Rosewood High School valedictorian Samantha Creech and Dylan Melgar.
Wayne County Public Schools will graduate nearly 1,200 seniors in its Class of 2016 this week.
Commencement ceremonies are planned for this week for the six traditional schools in the district, with 1,177 diplomas being handed out.
Graduation events were already held last month at the county's two other schools, Wayne Early/Middle College High and Wayne School of Engineering. Combined, they had 144 graduates.
Students at the two non-traditional schools also distinguished themselves by having 45 of the WEMCH graduates earning a high school diploma and an associate degree from Wayne Community College, and 10 earning both an associate in arts degree and an associate in science degree. Nine of the 56 WSE graduates also earned associate degrees.
Ceremonies kick off Wednesday evening at Rosewood High School, at 7 p.m. on the Branch Pope football field. The school has 129 candidates for diplomas.
Samantha Creech is valedictorian. She plans to attend UNC-Chapel Hill and study international business.
Dylan Melgar, salutatorian, will attend N.C. State University, studying psychology.
Three ceremonies will be held Thursday evening.
The Goldsboro High School ceremony starts at 6 p.m. in Cougar Stadium, with 103 candidates for diplomas.
Deja Matthews is valedictorian. She will be studying accounting at Fayetteville State University.
Salutatorian is Na'Shir Bowden, who intends to study engineering at East Carolina University.
Graduation at Charles B. Aycock High School starts at 7 p.m., on the Hardy Talton athletic field, with 285 students crossing the stage.
Caroline Taylor, valedictorian, will be attending UNC-Chapel Hill, where she plans to study psychology and then attend law school.
Cameron Cook, salutatorian, said she is interested in studying psychology and occupational therapy at East Carolina University.
Southern Wayne High School, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has 262 candidates for graduation. In conjunction with the occasion, the school switched up the color of its cap and gown this year, from dark blue to red.
The ceremony will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Kornegay Arena at the University of Mount Olive.
Allison Barrow, valedictorian, plans to attend Meredith College and study business and accounting.
Aubrey Sassy, salutatorian, will attend N.C. State University, where she will major in biology and minor in Spanish.
The final two ceremonies are scheduled for Saturday morning.
Eastern Wayne High School has 244 candidates for diplomas. Graduation starts at 9 a.m. on the Warrior football field.
Ethan Quinn, valedictorian, will attend ECU and study engineering.
Collin Nix, salutatorian, has been accepted at UNC-Chapel Hill and intends to study business.
The Spring Creek High School ceremony, with 154 seniors, will be at 10 a.m. in Kornegay Arena at UMO.
Auston Gray is valedictorian. While at N.C. State University, he will study engineering.
Cassie Alphin, salutatorian, will also attend N.C. State University, enrolling in the English/creative writing program.
While all schools distribute a certain number of tickets to each graduate, officials encourage anyone attending graduation ceremonies to arrive early to ensure a seat and admission. Events start promptly and entry at that point is not guaranteed.