The Knights took to the field Friday morning.
But this wasn’t storming the field after a big win, it was the Evans High School graduation at Evans Towne Center Park. Family and friends surrounded the stage to see their seniors graduate.
Columbia County School District Superintendent Dr. Steven Flynt congratulated the seniors on their accomplishments and said he knows they will go on to do great things.
“Your presence here today shows that you value education and what it means to be a high school graduate,” Flynt said. “It shows your dedication and commitment to success and it’s only the beginning of what we know will be a bright and promising start to your next adventure. You’ll have officially made your mark as a member of the Evans High School graduating class of 2023.”
Flynt said more than half of the graduating class has plans to continue their educationsl after graduation, and combined they have earned $3.1 million in scholarships, more than half are eligible for the HOPE Scholarship and 54 are receiving the National Cyber Scholarship.
Among the graduating seniors were 146 honor graduates, 56 advanced placement scholars, 18 advanced placement capstone graduates and Governors honor program finalists. There are also many seniors who graduated with more than a high school diploma.
“More than 200 Evans High School students completed a Career, Technical and Agriculture Education pathway with 23 students completing two pathways and one student who is a triple pathway completer,” Flynt said. “This class has also secured 192 industry certifications, which gives them the potential to begin their careers as soon as we leave here today.”
India Smith was one of the pathway students, but she didn’t just participate in one pathway, she was the triple pathway completer – carpentry, HVAC and JROTC.
“It went by pretty quickly. It was mostly pretty fun, still felt like school,” Smith said of completing the three pathways. “Well, I told my mom, it was required for me to do three years of JROTC, so I wanted to stay in that. It was a fun class and carpentry and HVAC. I just like being in classes like that where I’m like hands on.”
After graduation, Smith plans to join the Navy and plans to use the skills learned in those classes in the future when purchasing a home.
For Brice Nunnallee, he completed the allied health pathway because he is planning to attend Augusta University and major in nursing. He plans to enter the anesthesiology field.
“I really love the patient care aspect of it and learning about human anatomy and just how the body works really fascinated me,” Nunnallee said.
He added that he loved the pathway and had two teachers who were great. One of them, Leslie Vandenabeele was the Health Occupational Students of America (HOSA) advisor, and Nunnallee said she was great at helping the students with the competitions and helping him understand the medical world. He would also recommend other students take a pathway program.
“Definitely look around the pathways, take them and see what interests you,” Nunnallee said.
During the graduation, the school honored Ethan Franklin, a senior at Evans High School who passed away in January, said EHS Principal Wade White.
“Ethan was a student in our CTAE Department working toward completing the welding pathway, as well as a lifelong student of the Columbia County School System,” White said. “Evans High School would like to present Ethan’s diploma, along with his cap and gown to his family. Although Ethan isn’t able to be here to celebrate this special day with us, we feel that he is here in spirit and he will continue to live in the hearts of all of us at Evans High School today and every day.”
Also during the graduation, attendees heard from salutatorians Aubry Clayburn and Courtlyn Myers, along with valedictorian Baylee Pruitt. All spoke about their time at the high school and offered words of encouragement for the future.
Stephanie Hill is a staff writer covering Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
