Excitement rippled through the halls of Warren Road Elementary School Thursday.
Current students held banners and cheered as graduating high school seniors who once attended Warren Road paraded through for a final Senior Walk. Some of the young students shouted out that they were proud of the seniors, and others said they’d done a good job.
Their words of praise “made my day,” said Taylor Murray, Westside High School’s salutatorian, whose little brother was among the Warren Road students.
Most of the students are graduating from Westside May 29, but others attending the May 22 walk are graduating from Evans, John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, Augusta Christian, the Academy of Richmond County and North Augusta High School.
Murray called it a final step before heading off to the University of Georgia in the fall and waxed nostalgic as she walked the halls. High school graduation had seemed so far off when she attended Warren Road, and now, she’s days away from the milestone, she said.
Mikayah Cobb, who is also graduating from Westside, called the moment bittersweet. She and classmate, Keishawn Graham, chatted about the school and how it looked different from when they were there.
“It feels smaller now because I’m taller than I was in fifth grade,” said Graham who played on Westside’s three-time state championship basketball team.
Lutricia Parkman, one of Warren Road’s assistant principals, said the event was designed to not only celebrate the graduates but to inspire and motivate current students to look ahead.
“Everything they are doing now is preparing them for future success. We just wanted to celebrate education and end the school year on a positive note,” she said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s a Georgia Press Association winner and the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
