Over 500 graduate from county public schools
From Staff Reports
Approximately 580 seniors graduated June 11 from Darlington County public high schools. About 230 received diplomas at Darlington High School in ceremonies held at the school’s football stadium. About 223 seniors graduated from Hartsville High School in ceremonies held at the school’s Kelleytown Stadium. About 70 seniors graduated from Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology in ceremonies held at the school in Darlington. And about 56 seniors received diplomas from Lamar High School in ceremonies at the school’s stadium. “The pandemic does not define us or our experiences; it just made us stronger for the next chapter in our lives,” DHS salutatorian Laine Ward said. “We are lucky that despite a year full of changes and challenges, we are actually graduating in person here today.” DHS valedictorian McKayla Miller said: “COVID-19 gave us a new reality and changed our lives in many ways. But instead of letting it bring us down, each of us has been able to persevere and overcome the challenges this pandemic has brought us.” “When the world halted in 2020, we all believed it would be only that class that would face a crazy senior year,” DHS Principal Cortney Gehrke said. “And yet 2020 turned into 2021, and you all lost not just the end of your junior year, but your senior year as well.” At Hartsville High, valedictorian was Madilyn Grace Johnson and salutatorian was Lily Nicole Ferguson. At Mayo, valedictorian was Clay Ewing and salutatorian was Abigail Grace Weatherford. At Lamar, valedictorian was Effie Marie Copeland and salutatorian was Payton Brooke Stephens.
