Hiwassee Dam – The Eagles had a beautiful morning, with lots of wind to soar away into their future Saturday.
Principal Daniel McNabb said he was proud of all the accomplishments of the 39 students in Hiwassee Dam High School’s Class of 2021. Academic honor student
Dezeray Adams’ speech, “Stepping into a New Chapter,” touched on the trials and loss the class and community endured over the last year.
“We have suffered as a community this year when we lost three young loved ones who will never be forgotten but always missed,” Adams said. “With loss comes strength that can help you through the next monumental event that takes place in your life, such as a pandemic.”
Academic honor student Chase Sanders kept her speech short and to the point, quoting Austin Hawkins, a 2020 Hiwassee Dam High graduate who was killed in a car accident on June 25, 2020: “Be good or be good at it.”
A somber laughter came from the crowd as the two speakers remembered the lives of the two brothers who passed last year. Avery Hawkins would have been a Class of 2022 graduate.
The 2020-2021 academic year was especially tough on students, as McNabb pointed out in his speech.
“This class was taught that they needed to grow together, and then was told to separate and social distance,” he said.
“They went through the year breathing through masks, temperature checks every morning and using gallons of hand sanitizer.”
McNabb reflected on how the class had to do a lot of schoolwork online – only able to come to school in cohorts two days a week, and then being able to come full time again before they graduated.
“Even through all of this, they have continued to be a wonderful class,” McNabb said.
Out of the 39 graduates, three will be joining the workforce, while 22 will be going to a two-year school such as Tri-County Community College or Southwestern Community College, and 14 students will be headed to a four-year university like Western Carolina University, the University of North Carolina in Wilmington and Belmont (Tenn.) University.
The Class of 2021 received $820,000 in scholarships and was third in the state for the completion of federal student aid, McNabb said. The graduates plan to go into different fields of study, like nursing, music/art, psychology, marine biology and wildlife rehabilitation.
Six seniors graduated with an associate’s degree from Tri-County, three with a certified nursing assistant license and one as a certified pharmacy technician.