PHOTOS: Arp High School Class of 2023 graduation
Published 5:45 am Friday, May 26, 2023
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The Arp High School Class of 2023 treasures its friendships.
“I could not have asked for a better class than this,” salutatorian Abigail Nichols said at the school’s graduation ceremony Thursday night. “We have always been there for each other even through the tragedies we have faced this year. We have come to realize how important friendship is.”
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Sixty-two seniors walked the stage at the Clark Wayne Roberts Auditorium to receive their diplomas — but they were missing one of their friends. The senior class, and Arp community, lost one of their own in Thomas Fuller, 17, last month when he was killed in a car crash.
Thomas’ father Tommy Fuller accepted his son’s diploma on Thursday night.
Valedictorian Molly Jane Mwamba said Arp is one big family.
“We’re very tight knit community, losing a family member has been hard,” Mwamba told CBS19.
At the ceremony, Mwamba spoke to her peers as they get ready to start a completely new chapter of their lives.
“We venture on a new journey filled with endless opportunities. With this comes many questions I am sure we have all faced,” Mwamba said. “Although I do not have all the answers to those questions today, I believe it is very important to remember that we are capable of anything we put our minds to.”
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Mwamba said the world is full of opportunities and reminded her classmates to follow their passions and stay true to themselves and their values.
“We are fortunate enough to live in a time where we can pursue our dreams and create our paths,” she said. “We must be diligent in our efforts to create a better world and mindful that our actions in the future have an impact, no matter how small, so strive to leave the world better than we found it.”
Mwamba will study pre-med and cheer at Baylor University, and Nichols will study nursing at the University of Texas at Tyler.
Honor graduates were Luke Allen, Landry Brady, Haley Bryand, James Evans, Zachary Herring, Jacob Hooper, Kyia Horton, Wyatt Ladd, Landon Langenbau, Hunter Nash, Kyleigh Pawlik, Daemon Phipps, Jocelyn Rodriguez, Elizabeth Sellers, Kayleigh Shuttlesworth, Karina Zavala, Mwamba and Nichols.
The graduates earned $329,846 in scholarships; 29% graduated with honors; and 42% will pursue a college degree.