The 10th graduating class of Lenoir County Early College High School – 33 seniors who had to learn a new way of going to school at the same time they were mastering their academics – earned praise for their perseverance and accolades for their success while being presented diplomas at commencement Wednesday night.

“I saw an inspiring level of resilience and determined enthusiasm to push beyond established limits, to push beyond those limits a pandemic put in our way, to push beyond those unprecedented obstacles and impediments before you,” LCPS Superintendent Brent Williams told the seniors in his commencement remarks. “I saw you do that. I saw the difficulty, I saw the struggle, but more than that I saw success in the perseverance.”

Case in point: 90 percent of the graduating class also earned associate degrees from Lenoir Community College during their time at Early College, despite nearly three full semesters when coronavirus restrictions roiled the instructional schedule and muted those celebrations that students see as milestones as they wind down their high school careers.

“This class of 33 graduates has faced more challenges than any other graduating class ever due to the pandemic we’ve all faced,” Early College principal Diane Heath said in her remarks. “But they have all persevered to arrive at this moment in this special time.”

A partnership between LCPS and LCC, Lenoir County Early College High School is the most non-traditional of the district’s schools. It operates on a schedule unique in LCPS. It’s housed at Lenoir Community College. And in their four or five years there, students work toward a high school diploma and college degree or advanced certification.

It is, as Williams pointed out, the district’s “flagship” high school, consistently posting a 100 percent four-year graduation rate, ranking first among LCPS high schools in academic achievement and making annual appearances on the list of the nation’s best high schools published by U.S. News & World Report, an honor Early College won again this year.

“Each of you here tonight has dedicated yourself to rigorous academic excellence and you did that through a year and a half of challenging times. You persisted and that’s the only thing that will carry you through the rest of your life – your perseverance,” Dr. Deborah Grimes, senior vice president of instruction and student services at LCC, told the Class of 2021.

Grimes, as a new hire at LCC in 2006, was instrumental in getting Early College open the next year – an achievement she ranks among her “proudest moments because of people like you who are graduating tonight.”

Unlike last year’s graduation, when the senior class was divided into smaller groups and multiple ceremonies were held to allow for physical distancing, the Class of 2021 graduated together – a significant occasion for senior Hannah Willis, who remembered in her commencement address the disappoint of being isolated from her classmates.

“Now we are all here in our caps and gowns getting ready to go our separate ways to make more memories,” Hannah said. “Thoughout the years, I have seen us all work hard and try our best to figure out what we want to do with our lives. Even though we are all going on different journeys, we will use what we learned in Early College to help us along the way and we will all remember the good times we had here.”

Of the 33 graduates, 24 are headed to four-year colleges, two are returning to LCC for additional certifications, two are joining the military and five are entering the workforce.

Principal Heath announced nearly $200,000 in scholarship awards for the Class of 2021 and recognized 17 students as graduates of distinction.

 Graduating cum laude were J’Miyah Dupree, Kimberly Gonzalez, Diana Leon-Lara, LeTeiacesa Lewis, Ricardo Rodriguez, Jordan Speller and Kelsi Swinson. 

Graduating magna cum laude were Heidy Alvarez-Salas, Elizabeth Gandee, Macy Humphrey, JaKarrie Miller, Kaylin Mills and Andrea Sanchez-Roman. 

Graduating summa cum laude were Kurt Nguyen, Jessica Riggs, Amelia Verduzco-Medina and Hannah Willis.