Hancock County graduates 116
May 27—Thursday night saw Hancock County High School's gymnasium packed with friends and families seeing off and congratulating the 116 students in the class of 2022.
Before the students lined up to make their way to their seats, students Sierra Richards and Ashley Nugent were among the first to arrive to prepare for their walks across the stage.
For Richards, who became a student at HCHS during her junior year after attending school in Tell City, Indiana, graduating with this class felt right, and she looks forward to what's ahead.
"I was very accepted. I was nervous (with it) being a new school ... but when I came here, it was so friendly," Richards said. "I felt like I've been here my whole life, and I felt like a local.
"I'm excited to go on with my life and experience new experiences."
The day was met with mixed emotions for Jaci Richardson, who has already received an associates degree through the Early College program with Owensboro Community & Technical College and will attend Western Kentucky University's Owensboro campus to major in business management.
"It's very bittersweet," she said. "I've cried so much today, so I'm like, 'OK, I can't cry anymore.' But I'm excited too, just to see what's next."
Richardson and fellow student James Roberts said that they will miss the relationships they formed with friends and teachers.
"I think the thing I'd miss most is probably the teachers, because the teachers here are really, really nice," Roberts said. "They're almost like friends to me."
Principal Ginger Estes welcomed the students and the crowd and addressed the challenges and obstacles that the class endured, but said that they have gained the resources and knowledge to navigate.
"Your resources are limitless, and we know that you will make the world a better place," she said. "We also know that you have the heart and the grit to see those things through. You have successfully overcome a worldwide pandemic as a student. You worked through how to take what once was and made it a new normal."
Lauren Proctor, class president, spoke about the changes she and her classmates experienced, how they helped them develop a closer bond and show what the class is capable of in the years ahead.
"Though it is time for us to leave HCHS, we have the opportunity to achieve higher and significant goals," Proctor said. "Each one of us has access to the greatest and most powerful tool ever known to Earth that nobody can touch or take away — your mind.
"The very being of you is too valuable, too impactful and too worthy to be overlooked. With your mind, aspire to achieve greatness. Inspire yourself and others."
