…WITH SLIDE SHOW AND VIDEO

45 seniors at Cape Hatteras Secondary School received their diplomas at a graduation ceremony held on Saturday, June 10.

A collection of both friends and family joined the graduates in The William P. Dillon Memorial Gymnasium on a warm and sunny evening to celebrate the happy occasion. The graduation ceremony followed a Community Celebration of CHSS Seniors which was held on Wednesday, May 31, and which included scholarship presentations and special recognitions. Approximately 47 scholarships were granted this year to well-deserving seniors from local and regional organizations from Hatteras Island and beyond.

At Saturday’s graduation ceremony, the Cape Hatteras Secondary School Graduation Band, led by Sean McCroskey, provided a prelude to the event and the traditional processional, “Pomp and Circumstance,” as the seniors filed into the gym.

After a presentation of colors by the U.S. Coast Guard, senior Delaney Foster Johnson led the Pledge of Allegiance and senior Samantha Michelle Arzu welcomed the attendees.

Assistant Principal Annette O’Neal recognized the class salutatorian, Aron Lee Stowe, while Principal Beth Haneman-Rooks introduced Gabrielle Calypso Sadler. Both students spoke to the audience and their fellow graduates, along with special guest speaker Charles Stowe, a 2017 Class Sponsor.

Dare County Superintendent of Schools Sue F. Burgess declared the seniors graduates, and class president Aron Lee Stowe presided over the turning of the tassels. Closing remarks were by senior Caitlyn Mary Setree. 

The new graduates then filed out of the ceremony to a recessional of Pomp and Circumstance.

On the Friday morning before they graduated, the seniors traveled the short distance to Cape Hatteras Elementary School for the “Hurricane Walk of Fame,” during which the older students gave the youngsters an up close and personal look at what they can aspire to.

Dressed in their caps and gowns, the seniors paraded through the corridors of the Elementary School as the younger students and their teachers lined the hallways. There were plenty of high-fives, hugs, and congratulatory shouts as the seniors made their way through the hallways.

Click here to see a slide show from the Cape Hatteras Secondary School 2017 graduation ceremony