“It took a lot of work.
Time, and persistence, too.
To achieve the important goals.
That you set out to do.
That effort now pays off.
The world now offers more.
To you, new graduate.
It opens a special door.”
A portion of the well-renown graduation poem “The Special Door” rings ever so true for the future graduates of Elizabethton High Schools.
Senior students spent Thursday afternoon visiting each of their different schools to inspire the current student body to set academic and personal goals for their futures. An addition this year sees the students talking about their achievements, the importance of education and their plans following graduation.
According to the Elizabethton City Schools System, the idea was born out of the First Tennessee ACT Collaborative with regional school districts.
“We’re trying to promote success with the lower grade levels,” said Eddie Pless, Director of Testing. “We want them to see students who walked the same hallways and how they’ve been successful and that they’re prepared and college and career ready because of what they’ve experienced in their K-12 education in Elizabethton City Schools.”
Over at East Side Elementary, former Pirates were treated to a special senior tea and a look back at their accomplishments and stories throughout the school career.
The East Side 2010 class of students include: Tristan Bryant, Russell Carter, Joshua Fulton, Victoria Garland, Anthony Glass, Reann Hall, William Harrison, Kennedy Hatfield, Leia Hays, Sarah Heaton, Isaac Johnson, Steven Kacmar, Erik Larkin, Alexa McAdams, Megan Maddies, Adam Marley, Israel Miller, Bailey Montgomery, Alex Norwood, Ashley Payne, Stephanie Pearson, Hannah Puckett, Jamin Richardson, Grace Roberts, Evan Sewell, Maci Shell, Sarah Slagle, Joshua Suarez, Bobby Thrift, Jacob Turner, Jacob Vicchio, Branden Vilayseang, Isabella White, Autumn Williams, Johnny Ray Woodby and Mason Yates.
“This is an event we do annually,” East Side Principal Travis Hurley said. “If you went to one of the elementary schools, you come back as a senior at Elizabethton High. It’s great to see how students have grown from the elementary world to the high school world and what they have in store for their futures. It is an amazing experience for our children to see this and it’s also perfect for our teachers to see that their hard work does pay off.
East Side teacher Tammy Troutman shared some memories with students while the former students also shared their tales with attendees.
Near the conclusion of the event, fifth-grade students from East Side were brought in, and the current EHS seniors gave words of advice. No words rang truer than from Tristan Bryant, who stressed the importance of ACT taking. The senior scored the highest test score in school history.
While stressing the importance of education, everyone was able to take in the fun activities at the end as East Side students lined up down the halls and welcomed each EHS student with a high five.