This past Wednesday, 11 falcons walked the stage as mid-year graduates, spreading their wings and soaring into a new chapter of their lives. The ceremony was held on Jan. 31 in the Green Hope Auditorium, and refreshments were served after the ceremony had concluded to celebrate the newly graduated students. 

Mid-year graduation is an option offered to all seniors if they are interested, and allows students to graduate after one semester (instead of two), assuming they have received all their required credits for graduation. This year, eleven Falcons opted to graduate early: Sruthi Anne, Margaret Aysuce, Caelyn Bruber, Luke Chamblin, Isabelle Franklin, Caitlyn Sabre, Anna Lee Oros, Savannah Rubino, Kenderrus Smith, Hannah Taylor, Alexavier Thomas.

From working hard in their classes to immersing themselves in different extracurriculars, these eleven seniors were more than ready to celebrate their hard work over the past 4 years. As for post-graduation plans, these students have a wide variety of interests and plans.

One of the graduates, Hannah Taylor, is off to Wofford College as a lacrosse commit. When asked about her choice to graduate early, Taylor expressed that she wanted to spend more time training with her lacrosse team before the season and year began. As she leaves, she reflects on her time as a falcon, “Don’t sweat Green Hope.”

Another graduate, Sruthi Anne, will be finishing her associate degree in May with Wake Tech. Graduating early seemed like the best option for her, “If I have all my credits, why spend another semester in high school?” Sruthi can use her free semester to continue picking up shifts as a nursing aide and she can also look forward to the free time and flexibility she is granted. “It’s really nice to have that free time because I just pick up shifts whenever I want for my job, so traveling is definitely an option!” 

There are many reasons as to why Falcons choose to graduate early! Some just opted to be done with high school, some wanted more time to train their sport, or attend basic military training, while others simply moved out of the area! Whatever their reason was, these falcons have shown that they are ready to take on the real world.

Mid-year graduation is important to not only the students, but as well as the faculty and staff of Green Hope. This mid-year graduation is a culmination of hard work and dedication for over 4 years of teachers teaching and students learning; their early graduation is a glimpse of what future falcon success looks like. Green Hope’s principal, Mrs. Alison Cleveland said, “Mid-year graduation is one of my favorite events. It’s an intimate and casual celebration of our future falcons that have worked hard to get here.” The event was intimate, without a doubt, with only 11 students graduating and their families, the ceremony was completed in less than an hour. The ceremony included speeches from Mrs. Cleveland, the student body president Caroline Nguyen (‘24) and the procession of names from Mr. Matthew Mayse. 

The mid-year graduation serves as a sign of success and the GH Falcon applauds the 11 graduates who’ve spread their wings and soared into a new chapter. 

Gallery • 11 Photos

Valentina Garcia

Anna Lee Oros was one of the mid-year graduates. Congratulations!