Congratulations to Clarke Community High School’s Class of 2020!
Last Day of School
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seniors’ last day of school was on Friday, May 13. The students left for spring break week and never returned as a class to walk the halls of Clarke Community High School. They missed many milestones: the prom, extracurricular activities, the senior breakfast, the senior walk, and much more. The graduation ceremony had been in jeopardy too, but an outdoor celebration took place in June.
To the Class of 2020: Your ability to persevere could be your greatest gift. We look to you as the leaders of our future. We know you can accomplish great things. We are proud of you!
Virtual Graduation and Senior Awards
A virtual graduation ceremony honoring the Class of 2020 went live on the Clarke CSD website on Sunday, May 24. During the online event, graduates received recognition for their hard work and dedication with scholarships and awards. Twenty-seven seniors received the Clarke Community Dollars for Scholars scholarship for $525. Local scholarship money totaled nearly $60,000. All scholarship money totaled more than $516,000.
To view the virtual graduation ceremony please visit https://youtu.be/MQHxAT2l4nk.
Clarke High School announced several awards during the thirty-minute program. Five students earned the silver honor cord for having accumulated at least 200 service hours. Twenty students received the red honor cord for donating blood at least five times.
To view the entire senior awards program please click here.
Additional Award Highlights
Valedictorian- Coel Reece
Salutatorian- Kenna DeVore
Top Ten- Seth Cisler, Devin DeVore, Kenna DeVore, Olivia Franklin, Diego Hurtado, *Elayna Irving, Mary Jaurigue, Kathleen Menjivar, Coel Reece, and Shayla Sitzman
*Elayna Irving was not named during the in-person graduation ceremony during the reading of the Top Ten. We wish to congratulate Elayna for her dedication and hard work. She not only earned a Top Ten distinction, but she earned an honors diploma, too. She plans to attend Simpson College and study political science and criminal justice. We are proud of you Elayna!
Honors Diploma- Maria Domingo Franciso, Landi Helgevold, Elayna Irving, Jayden Miller, and Bailey Smith
Graduation
An in-person graduation ceremony took place outdoors at the high school stadium on Sunday, June 28 at 2:00 p.m. Ninety-eight students received a diploma during the 45-minute ceremony. One angel graduate, Jeffrey Ernest Shear Jr., was memorialized. A program and list of graduates may be viewed here.
Jackson Hoag gave the welcome speech; Coel Reece gave the valedictorian speech; Devin Devore shared class memories.
The graduation ceremony video is available at https://youtu.be/qzRGy5lAIMg.
Post-Secondary Plans
Each graduate has exciting post-secondary plans: 49 students plan to attend a two-year, vocational, or training school; 20 students plan to attend a four-year school; 23 students plan to join the workforce; several students are undecided. One student, Miguel Barrientos, will enlist in the U.S. Army.
We are proud of our Clarke graduates, and we wish nothing but the best for each of you!