Sikeston R-6 graduates 215 seniors

SIKESTON — Approximately 215 Sikeston High School and New Horizons High School graduates received diplomas in an outdoor ceremony Monday during the 120th annual commencement at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium.

Leading the class in academics were Trinity Land as valedictorian and Amelia Arndt as salutatorian. Land, who is the daughter of Casey Clay, was a member of Sikeston High School National Honors Society and a violist for the Chamber Orchestra. She was involved in the schools Link Crew and Model United Nations. Land and fellow graduate Angel Huang were the first in SHS school history to receive the 2020 QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship, which awarded them a full, four-year scholarship and admission to a top college. Land plans to attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and major in chemistry. Huang will pursue a degree in business at Washington University in St. Louis. The two SHS grads were among 1,464 high school students nationwide to receive the scholarship through QuestBridge.

Arndt, who is the daughter of Melissa Morris, participated in varsity cheerleading, varsity soccer, and she served as the National Honors Society president, DECA president and the Bulldog Barker editor. She was a member of the Key Club, FCA, SOAR, Model UN, Red Peppers, Link Crew, Girls State and ACT 30-plus Club.

Joseph Miles, presiding class president, presented the speakers for the ceremony, and Tomero McClenton read the senior poem, “Future Tense,” which he wrote.

“It’s been a long ride; Now we can say that it’s done. But this isn’t the end; For we’ve only just begun,” McClenton said in his poem. “All of you, Who gave us your all. You had our backs; Through every rise and fall. … But tomorrow we pack our childhoods away. And prepare to leave our nest; Journeying to our futures, hoping for the best. …

He concluded: “We are the class of 2021; Born in 2002 and 3. And the future of your world; Will soon be our legacy.”

Selected speakers Armani Hodges and Aaron Burch each then gave speeches.

In her speech, “To More Life,” Hodges, who is also the student body president, told the young spectators in the crowd that high school wasn’t like the movie, “High School Musical.”

“These four years are definitely what you make of it,” Hodges said. “Whether your high school experience was good or bad, this doesn’t set the tone for the rest of your life. Understand that a bad high school experience is not a bad life. Take advance of these new beginnings and experiences and own it. Remember that everything you have gone through within the past few years you’ve grown through, especially this past year.”

She went on to tell he peers they can rise up from anything and reinvent themselves in an instant.

“You’re not stuck,” she said. “The things that you experienced — that pain, struggles, stress — were all lessons and moments that you learned from and held onto in order to become your best self right now. None of it was time wasted; it was time invested.”

Hodges said if the graduates don’t listen to anything she had to say at least take away the following.

“Evolve or remain,” Hodges said. “Marianne Williamson, author and spiritual leader, put it like this: ‘Nothing binds you except your thoughts. Nothing limits you except your fear; and nothing controls you except your beliefs.’”

She reminded the graduates that nothing binds them but themselves.

“You are your greatest competition and no one else,” Hodges said. “I challenge you all tomorrow to be greater than who you are today and continue that trend each and every day and keep moving forward. This isn’t the end of the road; it’s simply the beginning.”

In his speech, “Tradition,” Burch told his peers they all hold a tradition.

“This tradition is so bound in the roots that it all started when we were roaming around the room in kindergarten,” Burch said. “On that day, we learned that we are Sikeston.”

He went on to discuss the traditions like the school colors of red and black, which have been around for over 100 years; sports teams’ successes; and the class rings and school jackets many of them wear.

“Even though we have lived throughout these traditions, let us know forget who we are — the graduating class of 2021,” Burch said. “Let us stay gathered here in Sikeston for a long time and even go on to make our own traditions.

He concluded: “The opportunities for this class’s future are absolutely endless and each of us have our own paths, but let us gather once again as the traditional class of 2021.”

High School Principal Doyle Noe, who was introduced by Brittany Bryers, then announced honors and awards of graduates.

Superintendent Dr. Anthony “Tony” Robinson, who was introduced by Tyler Gilmer, presented the class while Board of Education President Aaron Boyce, who was introduced by Jeremiah Fuller, handed out diplomas.

Also at graduation, Fuller wrote the song, “It’s For the Best,” which the choir performed prior to the reading of the senior poem.

“All the seniors in choir wanted to get together and had an idea to be remembered when we move on so I took that, took some ideas and wrote a song from it,” Fuller said, who plans to attend Missouri State University where he will earn a music education degree and ultimately teach high school band.

High School Academic Principal Tiffany Morgan and New Horizons High School Principal Jeff Williams also helped announce graduates as they received diplomas.

Members of SHS’ class of 2021 generated nearly $3 million in scholarships. For most of the graduates, plans are underway for life after high school.

Many planned to attend a four-year college in the fall, according to SHS College Adviser Taneshia Pulley. College choices by the class of 2021 included in order of most popular: Southeast Missouri State University, Three Rivers College, Missouri State University, University of Missouri-Columbia, Mississippi State University and University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Six SHS graduates were awarded athletic scholarships.

Forty-five members of the graduating class will immediately enter the workforce, Pulley said.

“Having a job fair (in April) helped students get into contact with some of these local companies like Orgill. The job fair really helped students finalize their job choices,” Pulley said.

Three graduates will serve in the military —two in the Army and one in the Navy.

“Even with the struggle of COVID, this class continued to work hard and work for scholarships and got accepted into college,” Pulley said of the SHS class of 2021.

The first semester was a struggle for everyone, but by the second semester, everyone adjusted well and knew the policies, she said.

“They fought through it in the end,” Pulley said of the class.

Students and school staff and administrators were able to adapt and overcome this year, said Miles, who plans to attend Mizzou to pursue a degree in accounting.

“I’m super excited about graduating high school,” said Miles said. “It’s great to see that we have so many graduates this year and that we all stuck together as a class and got to graduate together.”

McClenton agreed. He plans to attend Southeast Missouri State University to earn his undergraduate degree in psychology and minor in counseling.

He said: “Even though we’ve all gone through such stuff this year, we’re still going to be the people to take over the future.”

Hodges, who plans to attend Howard University and study biology, said she’s also excited for the future.

“Being the optimist that I am, I tried to make the most of everything, the most of everything that was offered to me throughout the year,” Hodges said. “That’s all you can do. You have to make do with what you have. We were just trying to make the best of the year and do what we could and pushed the boundaries a little bit.”

Hodges said she appreciated SHS teacher Jill Grojean for her efforts to ensure the seniors had as much of a regular senior year as they could.

Bryers, who plans to attend Missouri State University and major in either psychology or social work, said she didn’t think the fact she’s graduating high school has hit her yet.

“I’m really the type of person who nothing is real until it’s right in front me,” Bryers said. “I’ve been telling everyone I probably won’t realize I’m out of high school until I actually start college.”

For Burch, who will attend the Missouri Welding Institute starting in July, said he didn’t want his classmates to ever forget who they are.

“I feel like a lot of people tend to do that once they get out of high school, but I don’t want them to forget everything we’ve learned here,” Burch said.

Gilmer doesn’t want to forget either. His post-graduation plans include attending the University of Mississippi to study biochemistry.

“I feel grateful to be part of a celebration of our class and recognizing all of the hard work and dedication it took to get here and to be part of something special which is really cool,” he said.