Years spent pursuing the highest academic achievement has paid off for a group of Thomas County Central High School seniors.
The school has announced its class of 2018 salutatorian and valedictorian as well as honor graduates. Celia “C’lee” Kornegay has won the top spot in her graduating class with Huntley Rodgers earning the second highest spot and the salutatorian mantle.
Being named valedictorian is a huge honor for Kornegay.
“Growing up, I have been involved in competitions like Science Olympiad, robotics and science fair, and I was always so competitive,” she said. “My freshmen year of high school I realized that I was ranked first in the class, and this was an honor that I did not want to lose. The competition was close at times, but in order to ensure I stayed at the top, I took extra AP and college courses. Receiving this honor makes all of the late nights and stress over tests and projects worth it.”
She thanks all her teachers who encouraged her and kept her on the right track toward achieving her goal.
Kornegay has been actively involved in the Thomas County Central High School Bands program as a Gold Band Wind Ensemble member and a dazzler in the Best of the Nest Marching Band. Other clubs and organizations she’s devoted time to include Science Olympiad, Future Business Leaders of America, FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics, Envirothon, math team, science fair, Keep Thomas County Beautiful and National Honor Society.
Kornegay will attend the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). She plans to major in civil engineering.
Rodgers says being named salutatorian means quite a lot to him. To his knowledge, TCCHS has never had a [senior] class president place within the top four students. His original goal was to accomplish this feat.
“So once I got within the top four, I figured why not try to be salutatorian and then maybe take a shot at valedictorian,” Rodgers says. “I knew becoming valedictorian would be hard to accomplish, simply because I know C’lee is extremely smart and a very hard worker. However, I tried my best to keep it close and challenge her for that number one spot.”
Rodgers, too, has been an active participant in his school’s various extracurricular activities and organizations. He played varsity soccer all four years of high school (as well as club soccer) and football his senior year. Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, Future Business Leaders of America, National Honor Society, Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership and TCCHS Student Council are organizations he’s taken part in over the years. Rodgers has been class president since freshman year.
Rodgers will attend the University of Georgia. He plans to double major in international business with a marketing focus and applied biotechnology. Also, Rodgers intends to minor in French because he needs a foreign language minor to fully complete his international business major.
The class also has 50 honor graduates. They are: Erin Alford, Ansley Alligood, Alan Brinn, Megan Butler, Emily Curry, Destini Davis, Parker Dixon, Amanda Dunlap, Cara Eaton, Hailey Ferrel, Danielle Fletcher, Jadia Flood, Arienna Floyd, Caroline Fuller, James Gay, D’Mecia Harper, Kenlie Harvey, Bret Hendricks, Katelyn Hobbs, Hayley Hoffs, Daniel Holland, Desiree Hough, Maddie Johnson, Riley Jones, C’lee Kornegay, Drew Lloyd, Elena Love, Morgan Lowe, Tony Matthews, Jackson NeSmith, Haley Newman, Shivani Patel, Chardai Paytee, Allison Popwell, Huntley Rodgers, Baylee Salter, Sydney Sanders, Gabby Schminky, Brody Smith, Sierra Stephens, Tori Stringer, Ansley Thornton, Gretchen Turnbull, Noah Voyles, JJ Ward, Kennedy Ward, Morgan Warr, Miyah Washington, Jennifer Wilson and Peyton Wright.
“Being named an honor graduate gave me a feeling of both pride and accomplishment,” Elena Love says. “I’ve been working to be an honor grad since I began high school. It is something that is important to my family and I. This distinction gives me a positive stepping stone to start off a new chapter in my life.”
Brody Smith said he is surprised, yet happy to know his hard work and efforts merited his title of honor graduate.
Tony Matthews is glad to be named an honor graduate.
“I work with the mindset that I should do the best I can on the work I'm given, and I will be rewarded according to my results,” he said. “I wanted to graduate with honors, as it is something my family has been encouraging me toward, and I am glad to see that I really have managed to succeed considering the rigorous classes I've taken.”
Miyah Washington feels very accomplished and proud of herself.
“I worked very hard to obtain the title of honor graduate,” she said. “I even took college classes over the summer to help achieve this. This distinction means that all of my hard work paid off during my high school career. All of those late nights spent doing homework weren’t for nothing.”
TCCHS Class of 2018 graduation will be held Saturday, May 26.
Kornegay is already working on her speech. Her involvement with Keep Thomas County Beautiful and the TCCHS Environmental Ambassadors this year has increased her awareness of the environment.
“A major point that I would like to address is how important it is for the individuals of the class of 2018 to take charge of their future,” Kornegay said.
Rodgers plans to incorporate something that emphasizes fun into his speech.
“Every chance I get, I always tell the underclassmen to make sure that they have fun,” he says. “This is because the fun times are always the more memorable ones. For instance, I still remember the fun times that I had when I was at the elementary schools. I like to think that these fun memories are what molded us into who we are today. Therefore, I strongly believe that the fun memories that we make in high school will mold us as we become adults.”