Clinton High School acquired 167 new alumni to add to Red Devil Nation on Friday morning with the graduating class of 2024 receiving their diplomas in the main gym.
Among the graduates was the Clinton Red Devil, whose person graduated after four years of mascot service. The Class of 2024 dedicated its ceremony to the memory of Jasmin Myashia Peake. The program says, “A special flower arrangement is on stage to serve as a memorial to this friend who was Red Devil at the time of her passing.”
The Valedictorian Speech was delivered by Anna Litzenberger, and the Salutatorian Speech was delivered by Ella Adair. The Principal, Dr. Martha Brothers, added to her every-morning-on-announcements slogan that “It’s a great day to be a Red Devil,” with this: “It’s an even better day to be Red Devil Alumni.”
“How do you want to make an impact?” was the question that Litzenberger posed to her classmates, instead of the traditional, “what do you want to be when you grow up.” Then, she listed ways that friends, classmates, and teachers had made an impact on her.
“Friends, never underestimate the impact you make on others,” she said.
Brothers said when she asked faculty members for advice to give to the graduates, responses ranged from Ferris Bueller and 401Ks to popcorn and the company you keep, and why “God gave you two ears and one mouth.”
Then, she encouraged the audience to give one massive cheer for the Class of 2024.
Adair encouraged her classmates to “enjoy this moment; you have all worked so hard to get here, enjoy the time we have here now.”
And as they proceed out into the world, she advised not to neglect the spiritual side of life, and to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. “I encourage you to find the true joy and satisfaction that is not of this world,” she said.
At the May 31 event, the CHS JROTC presented the colors, and The National Anthem was performed by the CHS and Clinton Middle School Band Members. Other student-participants were Terrena Anderson, Senior Class President, the Pledge of Allegiance; and Hannah Nelson, Senior Class Representative, the Invocation.
Presenting diplomas were Dr. Brothers, Superintendent Dr. David O’Shields; Sallie Adair Wiggins, 11th and 12th grade school counselor; and announcer Melaine Watson, assistant principal. Brothers made the welcome and the closing remarks; 37 graduating seniors reported scholarship offers to the guidance office and were listed in the official program.
Then, it was time for the graduating seniors to throw their caps into the air, sing the Alma Mater, and leave the arena through the traditional gauntlet of faculty members, and on into their future endeavors.
