Top seniors to keynote Lenoir County Early College High School commencement Wednesday
By Patrick Holmes
On Wednesday evening, Mackenzie Hood, Kaylee Sugg and Josue Garcia-Lopez will say a bittersweet farewell to friends and a school they will remember fondly as keynote speakers at their Lenoir County Early College High School graduation ceremony.
They will take the stage with a sense of confidence and a yen for leadership they say they learned at Early College.
“I came here really not wanting to be in charge of anything and always kind of scared,” Kaylee said. “Now I’m leaving knowing I can take charge.”
The three are top students in a class of 53 set to receive diplomas at the commencement exercise that kicks off graduation season for LCPS’s five high schools. The ceremony begins at 6 p.m. at the gymnasium at Lenoir Community College, where Early College is based. Also on the commencement program are senior class president Jada White, LCPS Superintendent Brent Williams, LCC president Dr. Rusty Hunt and Early College principal Steve Saint-Amand.
Of the 53 graduates, 38 are scheduled to receive associate degrees from LCC at the college’s commencement Thursday night.
“It is a really good class, a very solid class,” Saint-Amand said. “This will be among the largest classes we’ve had graduate and the 38 two-year associate degrees are among the most we’ve seen awarded. I can’t wait to see what these young people will do moving forward. I believe they’ll do amazing things.”
When the totals are in, Early College seniors will likely have accumulated $1.4 million in scholarship offers. Forty-four members of the class are moving on to four-year institutions, including three headed to East Carolina University as North Carolina Teaching Fellows.
The three commencement speakers are leaving with associate degrees, university scholarships, an impressive Early College resume, an appreciation of the recent past and a plan for the near future.
Josue, a Deep Run resident who attended Woodington Middle School, earned his diploma and two associate degrees from LCC. He is bound for the University of North Carolina, where he plans to major in political science and business and finance. After three years as an Early College representative to the state’s Youth Legislative Assembly, he thinks public office might be in his future.
“This was a great opportunity for me to branch out,” Josue said of his time at Early College. “When I got here freshman year I could barely say a word to anyone and now here I am giving a speech in front of 600 people.”
Keylee, a Snow Hill resident who attended middle school at Contentnea-Savannah K-8, completed the Early College program in three years, thanks to “a lot of summer school,” she said. In addition to her high school diploma, she has earned an associate of arts and associate of science degrees from LCC. She is headed to the University of North Carolina to major in environmental science and finance, with hopes of leading a nonprofit that benefits children.
Her commencement address will include some words of thanks. “I feel like this time has gone by so fast and we need to take a moment to thank the people and understand what it took to get here,” she said.
Mackenzie, a Kinston resident who attended EB Frink Middle School, earned her high school diploma and an associate of science degree from LCC. She plans to attend Campbell University and pursue a degree in engineering. “I had no clue about what I was going to do when I got here, but a few teachers helped me learn what I wanted to do and what I was passionate about,” she said.
The “scary” part about Wednesday night’s commencement is not her speaking, but it’s instead the big step that graduation represents. “I’ve been with these people for four years and I’ll go off in a life and won’t see them anymore,” she said. “It’s making me realize that life is actually coming at me.”
Top students, from left, Mackenzie Hood, Josue Garcia-Lopez and Kaylee Sugg will be featured speakers on Wednesday evening when Lenoir County Early College High School awards diplomas to 53 seniors.
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