The Shadow
Seventy-seven young men and women received their diplomas Friday evening during the 2019 commencement ceremony held in Curfman Hall and joined the family of Covington High School alumni.
Commencement exercises began with faculty, staff, local dignitaries and the graduates entering Curfman Hall during the processional to “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1.”
Following the processional, president of the Class of 2019, Brandon Seay, conducted the formal introduction and then led in the singing of the Alma Mater.
Seay then led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Covington High School Principal Derek Cantrell offered a few remarks.
Cantrell recognized the students’ efforts for getting to this point in their lives with their hard work during their time in the Covington City Public School System.
Cantrell also encouraged the graduates to put forth that same effort into the next endeavor in their lives.
After Cantrell’s remarks, the first student recognition of the evening took place.
The graduate who was recognized as the top student of the standard curriculum was Hailey Danielle Gibson.
As the top student of the standard curriculum, Gibson was seated on stage with the faculty and staff dignitaries, among others.
Following Gibson’s recognition, Garrett Morgan give his salutatorian address.
Morgan emphasized the need to acknowledge all of the people who got he and his classmates through high school.
“I promise, I?will try to keep this short, but we need to acknowledge all of the people that need to be thanked for their encouragement and support for us throughout high school,” Morgan said.
He continued, “To all of the parents, grandparents and siblings out there, I would like to say thank you for everything you have done to help us get here. Thank you for the support that all of you have given us as motivation, encouragement and the small things that you think go unnoticed, but truly are recognized and appreciated.”
A final token of thanks that Morgan focused on during his address was for his family. He cited his family members in pushing him to do bigger and better things and stay on top of him to study and complete homework assignments.
At the end of his address, Morgan thanked the faculty and staff of CHS and paid tribute to the late William “Boo” Stewart and Melvin Persinger, who were coaches.
“One thing that the loss of two great coaches taught us is life is too short. So don’t be afraid to express yourself and step out of your comfort zone every once in awhile,” Morgan said.
Morgan concluded his address by thanking his classmates for battling along with him during the years of high school.
“I would like to thank you all for battling through the four years of high school together. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for each and every one of us.”
Following Morgan’s address was the valedictory address of Evan Rose.
Rose also had a reflectful message in his address, but he put a little humor into it as well.
“In writing this speech, I considered all of the valuable lessons we’ve learned during our time here at CHS, so that I?may impart some meaningful wisdom about life to all of you,” Rose said.
He continued, “Unfortunately, I quickly realized that being an 18-year-old with no substantial life experience outside of Mr. [Pete] Pitard’s homework, I am totally unqualified to give such a speech.”
As Rose said that he feared his speech would be too cliche, he sought out for some help and found some in the form of fortune cookies.
“So I went to China House and for just $5, I bought 50 fortune cookies. What a steal, easily the best purchase of my life.”
Rose then said to laughter from the audience, “I think it’s reasonable to consider myself to be the world’s luckiest person now. I selected the cream of the crop, the five greatest of those fortunes to share with you today. With that said, let us begin our exploration of life’s greatest lessons as taught by fortune cookies.”
The first lesson Rose shared was, “To find ourselves, we must first lose ourselves.”
Rose shared that in leaving high school, each person will embark on a journey that has no clear beginning, path or destination.
“Sure you could follow the main route, but what good is a road trip if you don’t get to do anything new along the way,” Rose said.
As Rose shared each lesson he learned from the five cookies, he would open them into the microphone to draw laughter from the audience.
Rose continued by sharing the four remaining lessons he got from his fortune cookies. The second is, “We do three kinds of jobs — cheap, quick and good.”
“As unfortunate as it is, taking shortcuts is not the way to a job well done,” Rose said. Rose encouraged his fellow graduates that as they go into the world to take on new responsibilities, being diligent and hard-working is the way to go.
He also said that a strong work ethic is a virtue that gives others a reason to respect and look up to you, thus ending up in a better place.
The third lesson Rose shared was, “It was when you found out you could make mistakes that you knew you were onto something.”
In this lesson, Rose said that most often, people’s best efforts end up in failure, but it is what people learn from those failures that determines what can be accomplished.
“Learning is an iterative process achieved by trial and error. When we learn from our mistakes, we grow into better versions of ourselves more capable of accomplishing the task at hand,” Rose said.
He also said to his fellow graduates to be patient with their ambitions, they will be fulfilled over time.
To conclude the third lesson, Rose said, “When we finally do succeed, surely we will rightfully celebrate our hard-earned accomplishments, but we must never forget those who helped us along the way.”
That statement led into his fourth lesson, “We never know the worth of water ‘till the well is dry.”
Rose emphasized that the graduates, him included, have depended on others to reach the point of graduation. “Nothing any of us has accomplished, no matter how spectacular, would have been possible if it weren’t for the compassion and generosity of countless others helping us along the way,”?Rose said.
The final lesson Rose shared via his fortune cookies was, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Rose stressed that much was learned throughout his and his peers’ educational career, whether it was through textbooks, front pages of news articles or within the walls of CHS about what he called, “the terrible gashes hatred has torn into our world.”
Rose said that this hatred is born of selfish desire and leads to tragic consequences. “Ask yourselves, is your life structured around what you give to others, or what you take,” Rose implored to the audience.
Rose said that love and charity would enable everyone to heal the world and make it a better place for future generations.
Rose injected one last bit of humor into his speech by saying, “Hopefully that’s the last cliched message you’ll have to hear today.”
With the humor, came one last bit of insight, “Class of 2019, I trust that each of you will be successful in your own ways. Be adventurous. Be diligent.
Be patient. Be loving, and be yourselves. Congratulations graduates, and good luck to each of you as you take on life’s next challenges.”
Following the valedictorian address, two awards were presented.
The first awards presented were the CHS Alumni Association Awards, which are presented to a female and male graduate. They were presented by Cantrell.
The female winner was Gara McDaniel and the male winner was Rose.
The second award presented was the Bill Zimmerman Star of Leadership Award. This award was presented by Covington Mayor Tom Sibold.
The student who won this award matched Zimmerman’s community spirit and high level of involvement in community projects.
The winner of the award was Dakota Fisher.
Following the presentation of the two awards, the Class of 2019 members were given their diplomas.
The Class of 2019 honor students (GPA of 3.55 or higher) were:
— Evan Rose, Garrett Morgan, Rayne Barnett, Jadyn Davis, Hailey Gibson, Dallan Givens, Midajah Heighter, Brianna Humphries, Tijon James-Rice, Rickey Jefferson, Brandon Seay, Nicolas McCallister, Samantha Myers, Madison Noel, Trinity Nicely.
— Senior Class Officers: Brandon Seay, president; Ky’Aysa Seams, vice president; Brooke Crowder, secretary; Austin Woodson, treasurer.
— Senior Class Sponsors: Charity Hale, Leigh Ann Woodward, Mary Tyree, Steve Dressler, Kevin Hanna, Linda Powell.
— Junior Honor Marshals: Anna Grace Arritt, Anna Byer, Amiah Hunter, Cailin Johnson, Karis Saville, Shawn Shifflett, Kathryn Woodward.
Attending local dignitaries: Thomas H. Sibold, Mayor; S. Allan Tucker (Covington City Council); Bert Baker, Vice Chairman; Erika Hunter, Tonya Jones, Tamala Preston (Covington City School Board); Melinda Snead-Johnson (Superintendent of Covington City Public Schools).
— Pianist: Josie Fertig.
— Those who awarded diplomas: Melinda Snead-Johnson, Derek Cantrell, Chris Jones, Glenn M. Spangler, Charity Hale.
Covington Class of High School Class of 2019
A’s: Kolby Jay Anderson.
B’s: Winter Rayne Barnett, Emily Suzanne Bartley, Avion Re’Shawn Brickhouse, McKayla Marie Broughman.
C’s: Bralynn Marie Cigic, Haven Victoria Coles, Chandler Allen Cook, Alexis Cale Crowder, Brooke Ann Crowder.
D’s: Anthony Ray Davis.
F’s: Dakota Wayne Fisher, Hayley Rose Fleming, Enrique Maldonado Forbes, Hunter David Fridley, Trevor Scott Fridley.
G’s: Hailey Danielle Gibson, Mikayla Abigail Ginger, Dallan Lee Givens.
H’s: MacKenzie Nicole Hale, Steven Noah Hall, DeeDee Makala Harless, Trevor Deon Heidelberg, De’Andre Jaqorey Heighter, Midajah Anne Heighter, Briana Starr Hubbard, Nicholas Dakota Humphreys, Brianna Alexis Humphries.
J’s: Tijon Natelle James-Rice, Rickey Antonio Jefferson, Haley Ann Jerman.
K’s: Abigail Starr Kimberlin, Justin Thomas Knox.
L’s: Shelby Elaine Leichter, Alexander Julian Looney, Zoey Lynn Lucas, Jordan Dallas Ross Marcus.
M’s: Madison Lexus Martin, Dakota Cheyenne May, Lucas Ryan May, Nicolas Keith McCallister, Chyanne Marie McCoy, Gara Keristan Lee McDaniel, Alexis Paige McGuire, Jaun Antonio Miller, Shyann Sue Miller, Richard Garrett Morgan, Brandon Firdous Santana Motter, Samantha Renee Myers,
N’s: Hannah Jean Nester, Trinity Grace Nicely, Madison Faith Noel.
P’s: Brittney Layne Perkins, Abigale Louise Pritt.
R’s: Johnathan Malachi Rivera, Evan Scott Rose.
S’s: Isabella Raine Schooler, Ky’Asya Monae’ Seams, Brandon William Seay, Tony Ray Smallwood Jr., Ahmir Kyree Smith, Chyenne Nicole Smith, Dakota Alan Smith, Zakery Blaine Stuple.
T’s: Alexis Faith Thompson, Alexus Paige Tucker, Edward James Tyson Jr.
W’s: Deonte’ Leroy Wallace, Savanna Paige Ward, Whitney Marie Webb, Noah Ethan Wiersteiner, Justin Wayne Williams, Austin Garrett Woodson, Niyesha Marie Wright, Samantha Jeaneane Wright.
Y’s: Kyle Franklin Lee Yox.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Members of the Covington High School Class of 2019 toss their mortarboards into the air at the conclusion of commencement exercises Friday night in Curfman Hall. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
