A Salute to the Class of
There are countless words to describe Fulton County Schools’ Class of 2020, but a few stand out. Resourceful. Courageous. Indomitable. Persevering. Determined. Graceful. There are countless words
With the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly arriving in the middle of to describe Fulton County their senior year, these young men and women held their heads high in the face of uncertainty. They overcame obstacles never experienced by the senior classes before them, such as moving their Schools’ Class of 2020, but studies online to continue the path towards graduation or isolating at home during their most memorable academic year. They went without some of the traditional rites of passage, such as proms or a few stand out. senior picnics, but found themselves learning more about their internal strength, character, and drive to succeed. Resourceful. Courageous. The graduation season may look different, but the tradition of celebrating these soon-to-be graduates remains unchanged. Each high school named its top two scholars (valedictorian/salutatorian) Indomitable. Persevering. as well as a student whose personal story embodies the spirit and fortitude of the Class of 2020 (Star Seniors). Celebrations to honor Determined. Graceful. graduates are being held, only this time through virtual formats instead of stadiums or coliseums.
Class of 2020 Graduations With traditional commencement ceremonies cancelled, FCS high schools sought innovative ways to recognize the Class of 2020. Administrative leaders, students, staff and community members at each of the district’s 17 high schools thought outside-of-the-box about how to appropriately celebrate graduating seniors and their families.
The results are imaginative and extraordinary. Some schools are holding “drive-thru” celebrations where graduates, dressed in graduation regalia, and their families can drive decorated cars through the campus, with specific photo opportunities designated along the path. Others are creating scheduled, videotaped opportunities for graduates to walk across the stage in cap and gown to receive their diploma and pose for a photograph with their family. The recordings would then be broadcast during a virtual graduation ceremony.
Fulton County Schools May 2020 Another school has planned a “Drive-In” style ceremony where graduates and their families gather, in their cars, for an off-site celebration that safely combines virtual and in-person elements with the aid of social distancing. Other schools are choosing professionally videotaped, virtual celebrations that elegantly feature each graduating senior and applaud the Class of 2020’s promising future.
Although all of the ceremonies use technology innovations, each celebration will capture the pomp and circumstance of a traditional graduation ceremony with videotaped messages from the principal, valedictorian, salutatorian, student and staff leaders, as well as Superintendent Mike Looney and School Board members.
While these ceremonies are giving an opportunity to honor the Class of 2020, many schools also are in discussion with parent groups on ways to hold a large group celebration at a later date once crowd size restrictions ease.
The broadcast premiere of each high school’s virtual commencement celebration is posted below. Each school will share the video link with their families and school communities to watch online, and the FCS-TV cable channel (found on Comcast Ch. 24, Google Fiber TV Ch. 145, AT&T Ch. 99 and online) and the FCS website also will broadcast the ceremonies.
Class of 2020 Virtual Graduation Ceremonies
Alpharetta High School Saturday, May 23, 2020 7:30 p.m.
Banneker High School Tuesday, May 19, 2020 7:30 p.m.
Cambridge High School Saturday, May 23, 2020 10:30 a.m.
Centennial High School Wednesday, May 20, 2020 7:30 p.m.
Chattahoochee High School Wednesday, May 27, 2020 1:30 p.m.
Creekside High School Wednesday, May 20, 2020 7:00 p.m.
Independence High School Friday, May 15, 2020 11:00 a.m.
Johns Creek High School Saturday, May 23, 2020 7:00 p.m.
Langston Hughes High School Tuesday, May 19, 2020 1:30 p.m.
McClarin High School Wednesday, May 20, 2020 2:00 p.m.
Milton High School Thursday, May 21, 2020 7:00 p.m.
North Springs High School Tuesday, May 26, 2020 6:00 p.m.
Northview High School Saturday, May 23, 2020 7:00 p.m.
Riverwood High School Thursday, May 21, 2020 3:00 p.m.
Roswell High School Tuesday, May 26, 2020 7:30 p.m.
Tri-Cities High School Monday, May 18, 2020 7:00 p.m.
Westlake High School Tuesday, May 19, 2020 7:30 p.m.
Congratulations to all Class of 2020 Graduates!
Fulton County Schools May 2020 Star Seniors The “Star Seniors: Class of 2020” web and video series profiled 17 outstanding seniors – one from each high school – to give a collective look at Fulton County Schools’ Class of 2020. These students are the high academic achievers, all-star athletes, award-winners, philanthropists and community volunteers, students with unusual or unique tales to tell, and those who have beaten the odds to graduate.
Shooting the series began in early 2020 before COVID-19 was a household name. FCS-TV video crews visited high schools to talk with students and their mentors, but by the time filming wrapped up, sheltering-in-place guidelines were in effect. This meant conducting interviews by telephone, email and videoconference, which gave the project a raw but real-life feel.
A quick look at the 2020 Star Seniors:
Alpharetta High School – Suchetas Bokil (https://youtu.be/DxI4n6ksjCw) Suchetas Bokil is highly engaged in politics, government and leadership, but is also community-oriented with an end game of improving his community. Though he has won hundreds of debate awards and risen to the Top 10 in the nation, he considers it valuable to mentor younger debaters “to show them the importance of politics and current events and how they play into our lives.” He draws inspiration from his grandfather, a physicist who overcame his blindness to be successful, because of his can-do attitude, critical thinking, passion for learning. This fall, Suchetas heads to Harvard University to take his plans to the next level and move toward a career in government.
Banneker High School – Xavier Shankle (https://youtu.be/bvchUQ9VLMM) Xavier Shankle is Banneker’s senior class president and a member of the Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project. He was born blind in his right eye, but it gives him a distinct way of looking at the world. “I want to change the narrative of what it means to be an African American male in the business world,” he said. “I want to have a career as an investment banker. Ideally, I’d like to also pursue a career in politics where I can have the best opportunity to help people.”
Cambridge High School – Noor El-Gazairly (https://youtu.be/5WlXAdi14Wc) Noor El-Gazairly is an artist, athlete and a scholar. She is inspired by strong women in history and counts Amal Clooney as one of her heroes. “She’s an activist lawyer and litigator,” she said. “I see her as such a force.” Noor represented Cambridge High as a triple threat in gymnastics with vault, floor and beam activities, and was a state qualifier for the varsity swim and dive team. She also speaks French fluently and was co-founder and head officer of the Young Democrats and Model United Nations. In the fall, Noor will attend George Washington University and major in art and political studies. She also wants to attend law school with a focus on Art Law litigation, working to restore stolen artifacts.
Centennial High School – Jennifer Rangel Santos (https://youtu.be/4gBI4t0IRj8) Born in Chicago, Jennifer Rangel Santos and her family moved to Mexico when she was six years old, and by middle school, she and her siblings had to go to work to help support their single mother to make ends meet. As a teenager, Jennifer immigrated to the U.S. without her mother, speaking no English, and lived with extended family while attending Centennial. She was placed in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program and gradually gained language proficiency. In the fall, Jennifer plans to go to Georgia State University and major in anthropology. She hopes to become a cultural anthropologist and eventually a translator, but also wants to bring her mother to the U.S.
Chattahoochee High School – Jyotsna Rao (https://youtu.be/pT7O2HXmTBk) Jyotsna Rao marches to the beat of her own drum. Music is her focus, and her goal is to become a music therapist, combining her two greatest interests: music and psychology. Jyotsna loves to volunteer and has taught dance at a children’s summer camp and worked with Trees Atlanta. This year, she interned at a local hospice where she shadowed music therapists and visited patients. This fall, she heads to the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami as a music therapy major and psychology minor in a program that focuses on the neurological impact of music on the brain.
Fulton County Schools May 2020 Creekside High School – Sensoury McKay (https://youtu.be/6k94WrlkU4Q) Sensoury McKay is a praise dancer, section leader of the Creekside band, and one of the first students in Fulton County Schools to sign a letter of intent to become a teacher at the 2019 FCS Signing Day. “When I signed the letter of intent to become a teacher, it showed what I could accomplish as an individual,” she said. “I enrolled in teaching as a career pathway at the FCS College and Career Academy and for two years I went into schools and did internships. We saw what teachers go through. It’s very serious.” While she’s been accepted to 22 colleges, Sensoury plans to attend Bethune Cookman University to study education and will be the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. Her long- term career goal is to someday become a school superintendent.
Independence High School – Fatima Bibiano-Carmen (https://youtu.be/S1ykkl8dfJE) Fatima Bibiano-Carmen managed responsibilities of work, school and parenting a two-year old child, which is no easy feat for a high school student. Her biggest motivation is her daughter Catalina, but she also credits her parents, Mexican nationals who made substantial sacrifices for her and her brother. They impressed upon her the importance of education, and Fatima will be the first member of her family to graduate from high school and go to college. Not only that, she is Independence’s salutatorian and plans to study occupational therapy in college.
Johns Creek High School – Christopher Bodea (https://youtu.be/5w03I_jV1pw) Christopher Bodea is a born leader who “leads his peers in caring, instructional and professional ways and has built a bridge of communication and respect between faculty and students,” according to his school principal. “He truly brings everything to the table.” Christopher has served as Student Government Association president, varsity swim team captain and School Governance Council student representative, and hss even given a TEDx Talk on achieving happiness. His future plans include attending Georgia Tech where he will major in Industrial Engineering.
Langston Hughes High School – Nicole Acevedo Rosa (https://youtu.be/8r-Nzd-Sue8) Nicole Acevedo Rosa came to Georgia in 2017 after being displaced by Hurricane Maria. She lost everything in Puerto Rico and found her transition at Langston Hughes challenging. “She knew some English but wasn’t fluent,” her principal said. “She immersed herself in our school and our community.” After tackling the language and her subjects, Acevedo Rosa quickly became a leader. She is SGA President, National Arts Honor Society President, and is currently attending Georgia Military College to get an associate’s degree. She also is the first student from Langston Hughes to become a semi-finalist for the Bill Gates Scholarship. If she wins, she plans to attend Kennesaw State University and then transfer to the University of Southern California and major in Architecture.
McClarin High School – Sheena White (https://youtu.be/meBmAu9xbJ0) Sheena White is an unaccompanied minor who supports herself financially by working 30 hours a week. This determined young woman has the desire to graduate on time, even without the support most students have. She said it’s been a struggle, but she’s learned to stay calm and focused. She plans to attend technical school when she has saved enough money and is financially stable. Her goal is to follow in the footsteps of her sister to become a nursing assistant.
Milton High School – Ismael Fong (https://youtu.be/HSlf9u2BfC4) Ismael Fong overcame a long-term illness that forced him to be homebound for more than a year during high school. Struggling for several years to manage his condition, neither he nor his family felt confident that he would be back at Milton before graduation. But through determination, he was able to return. Ismael hopes to attend Georgia State University to study mechanical engineering or IT. “My dad was an engineer, so I want to follow in his footsteps,” Ismael said, “but technology and computers have always interested me.”
North Springs High School – Matthew Rott (https://youtu.be/-d4sjufSYY4) With an inherited immune deficiency, Matthew Rott knows about sheltering in place and has spent much time at home or in the hospital managing his illness. At school, he is recognized for his math abilities and has a 4.0 GPA. Volunteering from home has been a safe way to give back, and one initiative he supports is Folding@Home. In this project, citizen scientists run a software program performing protein dynamics simulations while their CPUs are idle. The data is collected for researchers to better understand diseases and how to cure them. COVID-19 is currently a high priority study subject. He will head to Oxford College of Emory this fall to double major in computer science and physics with plans to study quantum computing.
Fulton County Schools May 2020 Northview High School – Samuel Babadele (https://youtu.be/bCM4xXTYw14) Samuel Babadele was identified in middle school as a promising student and became a REACH scholar. The REACH Georgia Foundation, working with local school districts, provides a mentoring and financial scholarship program to needs-based students to shepherd them through high school and keep them on track to college. Samuel said the scholarship encouraged him to work hard and take a rigorous course-load, including many AP and honors classes. Additionally, he has played football, basketball, lacrosse and track, where he has excelled and served as team captain. Samuel’s immediate future includes a year at Kennesaw State University before transferring to Georgia Tech, where he will major in business administration and minor in engineering.
Riverwood High School – America Betancourt Guevara (https://youtu.be/NQGMEiyIn3Q) America Betancourt Guevara moved to the U.S. from Venezuela in second grade and had to overcome language and cultural barriers to find her place. At Riverwood, she hit her stride and made friends, while embracing the school’s diversity of different backgrounds and perspectives. However, she still faced obstacles and while attending high school, she worked jobs requiring long, late hours. For several years, she began her day before 6 a.m. for her daily trip to school. Yet she persevered and is one of Riverwood’s International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma candidates. This fall, America heads to the College of Wooster in Ohio with the Posse Scholarship, a four-year, full tuition leadership award.
Roswell High School – Gissell Martinez Blanco (https://youtu.be/JtePnjGsS8s) Gissell Martinez Blanco is one of the founders of Roswell High’s Hispanic Culture Club and also an active member of the Student Council. “Roswell High opened my eyes to volunteering,” she said. “Giving back to the community is something I want to do for the rest of my life.” Inspired by an older sibling who passed away, Gissell would like to someday be a pediatrician. “My favorite subject is biology. I want to find a medical solution for every problem,” she said. In pursuit of that medical degree, Gissell will attend Kennesaw State University as a freshman. Later, she hopes to attend Emory University for graduate and medical school.
Tri-Cities High School – Brianna Heyward (https://youtu.be/V0Dumm35z8w) Brianna Heyward has overcome unbelievable tragedy to become a resilient young adult. She grew up around domestic violence and witnessed her mother kill her father, and just two days later was in a serious car accident. She escaped with minor injuries, and the frightening events motivated her to keep moving forward. As a dual enrollment student, Brianna attends high school and college at the same time and has earned all As her senior year. In addition to working at a chiropractic center, Heyward has her own hair and makeup business and plans to earn her cosmetology license. For her future, Heyward has many careers in mind, including cosmetologist, cognitive psychologist and music therapist. Her mother’s struggle with mental illness has inspired her to get a doctorate in psychology and open a music therapy practice. She has been accepted to Georgia State University and Louisiana State University.
Westlake High School – Aaron Johnson (https://youtu.be/EqzrHTcK9pM) Aaron Johnson is an all-around top achiever at Westlake High School. A participant in the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Magnet Honors programs, he has mastered a difficult program of study. He also is a member of the Westlake marching band, National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, tennis team and is president of HOSA, an organization that guides students who aspire to have careers in health science. During his senior year, Aaron was accepted as a representative on the State Superintendent’s Advisory Council and worked with high school students around Georgia to advise State Superintendent Richard Woods on issues affecting students. This fall, he will attend Howard University with a major in biology and math. He plans to become a cardiothoracic surgeon.
Fulton County Schools May 2020 Valedictorians and Salutatorians
Alpharetta High School Banneker High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Valedictorian Salutatorian Nikhil Jaganathan Varun Kasibhatla Myesha Mateen DeShayla Dixon
Cambridge High School Centennial High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Valedictorian Salutatorian Ashley Sechrest Rachael Kang Mabel Htay Sophia Woodrow
Chattahoochee High School Creekside High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Valedictorian Salutatorian Jaehun Seo Brian Amaro Deshawn Johnson Priya Bhowmick
Fulton County Schools May 2020 Independence High School Johns Creek High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Valedictorian Salutatorian Samantha Olivares Fatima Bibiano-Carmen Christine Cheng Andrew Chen
Langston Hughes High School McClarin High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Valedictorian Salutatorian D'Neil James Cydney Johnson Nicole Vazquez Akaya Edwards
Milton High School North Springs High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Valedictorian Salutatorian Alexandra Salyer Martha Wolf Aviel Pearlman Isha Perry
Fulton County Schools May 2020 Northview High School Riverwood High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Valedictorian Salutatorian Patrick Wang Albert Zhang Hayes Miller Chandler McCleskey
Roswell High School Tri-Cities High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Valedictorian Salutatorian Saima FIroj Lindsay Burgess Austin Barnes Tyler Nguyen
Westlake High School
Valedictorian Salutatorian Malana Mullen Jayla Sparks
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Julia C. Bernath, President Linda P. Bryant, Vice President Gail Dean • Kimberly Dove • Linda McCain Katie Reeves • Katha Stuart
Mike Looney, Ed.D., Superintendent
Fulton County Schools May 2020