Oh The Places They’ll Go…

“There is a quote by Donovan Livingston I thought described this Class of 2016 perfectly,” said West Ashley High School valedictorian Adriana Pappas, “‘At the core, none of us are meant to be common. We were born to be comets, darting across space and time, leaving our mark as we crash into everything.’ Whether your comet takes you to college, the military, the workforce, or the summer Olympics for the 100 meter dash (Darrell Singleton), crash into everything you can and leave your mark on this world because I know this class will leave more craters than any other.” And leave their mark they did. West Ashley High School graduated 386 seniors on Thursday, June 2 at the North Charleston Coliseum, 36 of which were Board Scholars, graduating with a GPA of 4.25 or higher.
Pappas, who will attend Clemson University in the fall and major in veterinary sciences, had a GPA of 5.068. She was a member of the Yearbook Staff, The Drama Studio, served as a Student Ambassador, was a member of the National Honor Society, and is an equestrian who volunteers with students who have disabilities. Ben Middleton, who will also attend Clemson University in the fall and plans to major in Engineering, was the salutatorian with a GPA of 5.010.
The Class of 2016 proved to be a diverse group of students in that many were involved in a wide variety of activities — both inside and outside of high school — and were successful from an academic standpoint as well. One of the greatest academic achievements West Ashley High School has ever seen came this year through senior Quadray Hughes who was awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarship. Hughes is the first ever recipient from WAHS and is the first student in Charleston County since at least 2012 to receive this honor. Only 1,000 students receive this scholarship each year across the country. The scholarship pays all of the recipient’s schooling expenses in full up to the PhD level. Hughes plans to attend Northeastern University in Boston, MA in the fall to become a nurse practitioner.
A number of students signed this year to play sports while in college. Two signed to play softball — Ashton Coker signed with Converse College while Katie Painter signed with Lander University. Ryan McDonald signed to play baseball for West Virginia University. Four girls will play soccer in college — Devyn Brown signed with USC-Beaufort, and Sydney Hilburn, Kendall Spivey, and Remi Olalere all signed to play for Spartanburg Methodist College. Cade Bergman will play soccer for USC Aiken in the fall while Lindsay Michaels signed to play volleyball at Oglethorpe University.
Five seniors will play football at the collegiate level — Wade Rouse will play for Newberry College, quarterback Justin Berry signed to play for Indiana University, Malik Brown will play for Charleston Southern University, T’Qele Holmes signed with Coastal Carolina University, and Donnovinn Brown will play for Methodist University. Two student-athletes will participate in Track & Field events — Malik Paul signed with USC Beaufort while Darrell Singleton signed with the University of South Carolina. One of the more talented athletes to come out of West Ashley High School in recent years, Singleton is the third fastest runner in the Nation in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.48. He recently competed at the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational in Havana, Cuba.
Upon graduation five students, Abigail Barrineau, John Bautista, Matthew Beard, Cameron Lanham, and Logan Johnson, plan to attend The Citadel. Donte Jones and April Smalls will enter the Army, Javon King and Dillon Faison enlisted in the Marine Corps., and Daniel Coury has joined the Coast Guard.
This year’s graduates will attend more than 37 colleges and universities in the fall. Some will stay close to home and attend the College of Charleston, Charleston Southern University, The Citadel, and Trident Technical College. Others have decided to travel away from home to continue their education at schools like Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, New York University, Francis Marion University, and West Virginia University, and Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), among others.
Having served as the Senior Class Sponsor for more than 15 years, Ann Rustin and Marshall Swindall have seen it all. One of the things that hasn’t changed in all that time is how much they enjoy helping the seniors and seeing them grow. “Working with the Senior Class is exciting,” said Marshall Swindall, “They are in transition to college and the military and it is great to see them mature.” Swindall said that one of the things he was most proud of about the Class of 2016 was that there were over 60 seniors with a GPA of 4.0 or higher. “The seniors are a great group to work with because they see that their hard work is going to pay off,” said Ann Rustin, “We get to help them plan for their futures and encourage them to always seek to do their best.”
About an hour after graduation, a group of WAHS faculty, led by Principal Lee Runyon, went to MUSC to visit senior Troy Costen, who was badly injured over Memorial Day weekend. Originally his family called the school to see if they could pick up his diploma after graduation but the school wouldn’t hear it. They wanted to give it to him personally. Many of his teachers, his guidance counselor, the guidance director, and officials at the district level went to present Costen with his diploma. Visibly moved by the school’s act of kindness, Costen was speechless for the first few minutes of their visit. Finally he was able to mutter a mere “thank you” over and over again while choking back more tears.
“As this journey comes to a close, it’s time to embark on another journey, be it college, the military, or right into the workforce,” said West Ashley High salutatorian Ben Middleton, “Hopefully we can assimilate into our niches and find even more happiness and fulfillment in this next stage of life. So make sure to plan your next journey now. Plan to do whatever makes you happy, just don’t take life too seriously; try to have a little fun too.”