Vance County Schools held its second annual “Honoring Academic Success” banquet on Wednesday, May 10, at McGregor Hall in downtown Henderson to honor 48 high school seniors who are the top academic achievers in their respective graduating classes for the 2016-2017 school year.
An audience of approximately 225 people attended the banquet which featured entertainment by local students and a nice meal, catered by Cook Shack of Louisburg.
Kaitlyn Tant, a junior at Southern Vance High School, and Jadyn Jones, a junior at Northern Vance High School, each sang lovely musical selections to honor the high school seniors. They wowed the audience with their impressive musical talents.
Uriah Ford, a 2016 graduate of the Vance County Early College High School, was the featured speaker for the evening. Ford spoke about his experience last year as a member of the honored group at the 2016 “Honoring Academic Success” banquet. He also talked about his first year as a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and urged all of the soon-to-be graduates to enjoy their last few weeks in high school and to look forward to the challenges still facing them.
But, the true stars of the evening were the 48 high school honorees. Each are part of the top 10 percent of academic achievers in their senior classes. They have all proven to be leaders academically and have proven during their four-year high school careers that they value their studies and can be counted on to set high goals and work to achieve them. They were recognized individually and were presented with medallions by Superintendent Anthony Jackson, Vance County Board of Education Chairperson Gloria J. White and Vance County Public School Foundation President Archie Taylor Jr.
Those honored seniors included from the Vance County Early College High School (in first photo): Christopher Brame, Sierra Hawkins, Kristen Oakes, Janet Rodriguez-Morales and Jacob Weaver. They are joined by, from left, counselor Tannis Jenkins and Principal Debbie Hite.
Seniors honored as top academic achievers at the AdVANCE Academy at Western Vance High School (in second photo) were Danny Lee Hicks Jr., Cindy San Juan, Dawn-Sha’ Smith, Antavious Williams and Robert Wunderlich. They are joined by Principal Stephanie Ayscue, left, and counselor Marsha Harris, right.
Top achievers in the senior class at Southern Vance High School (in third photo) include: Luis Amaya-Villa, Yasmene Clark, Dalton Elliott, Gavin Eutsler, Daniel Faulkner, Kenia Gomez, Kendall Harris, Anna Hernandez, Brandon Lawrence, Antonia Loyd, Carrington Matias, Angelica Montano, Vianey Nonato, Tyler Patrick, Jaslin Renteria, Heidy Reyes, Yarelic Tamayo, Logan Waite and Autumn Wortham. They are joined, from left, by Principal Rey Horner and counselor Carol Simmons.
From Northern Vance High School (in fourth photo) those seniors honored were Megan Andrews, Jared Bennett, Charlie Chiem, Tamiya Davis, Brooks Falkner, Holly Hilliard, Sarah Howarth, Hannah Mason, Shadi Nagi, Connor Pendergrass, Michelle Pham, Penny Phan, Turner Roberson, Jo’el Royster, Deriana Scott, Bailey Shelton, Imani Simmons, Nathaniel Stevenson and Jeffery Zheng. They are joined by, from left, counselor Jameka Floyd and Principal Andrew Markoch.
