Students in Wake County are given the opportunity to complete their senior year in one semester. 34 seniors who chose to pursue this opportunity graduated from Athens Drive Feb. 2, 2017.  In order to do this, these seniors had to receive all of the required credits by the end of the first semester.

By the time students reach their senior year, they often only need a few more credits that are required to graduate.  Some students choose to take advantage of this and complete all of their remaining credits in their first semester.  By doing this, these students are eligible for graduating mid year. If any students are looking to graduate early, they must have it planned with their counselor at the beginning of the year.  By choosing to graduate early, students may decide to give up attending some of the traditional senior events, such as prom or the senior breakfast. However, graduating early gives students the opportunity to move on from high school to take their next step in life.

“It’s bittersweet, it’s the end of highschool and these students are getting a jumpstart on life, but they are also missing out on the fun parts of second semester, like prom, gradman, and senior breakfast,” said Christopher Remaley, senior advisor.

In February, some students graduated mid-year for a variety of reasons. Students chose to graduate early in order to focus more on their sports careers; to get an early start in college; to start a job, or simply just because they can.  Graduate Katie Zotter graduated early to embark on a three month long trip to serve in Uganda.

“I decided to graduate early because I have always wanted to serve others abroad.  Spring semester was the perfect opportunity for me to fulfill that dream,” said Zotter.

Other graduates, Emilia Migliaccio and Allison Lake, chose to graduate early to focus on sports. Migliaccio is using her extra time off from school to continue pursuing her career in golf. Lake decided to leave high school mid-year to get a head start in playing volleyball at James Madison University.  While some students graduated mid-year to pursue sports opportunities, others did so simply because they saw it as an opportunity to finish high school early.

“Some students are just ready to get out of high school, they’ve worked hard to meet the requirements and are ready to take the next step and move on with their lives,” said Remaley.

The brief graduation ceremony was held in the auditorium at Athens Drive Thursday night. Amber Doyle, Senior Class Co-President, delivered the welcoming speech followed Michael Lee, Senior Class Co-President. Lee introduced the keynote speaker Ava Wallace, Student Body President, who delivered a congratulatory speech to the graduates before they received their diplomas.

“I complimented the graduates on their bravery for finishing high school early and wished them well on their future endeavors,” said Wallace.

Emilia Migliaccio holds her diploma after mid-year graduation.

Photo by Ricky Migliaccio.