Local students awarded Work Ethic Seal

Apr. 12—For the past 23 years, the two local public school systems have teamed up together to prepare high school students for their transition from school to work and life beyond the classroom, with the motto of "A strong work ethic is essential to our students if they are to secure and maintain successful, meaningful employment".

On Tuesday afternoon at the Center for Rural Development, 129 seniors and 119 juniors were honored with the prestigious Work Ethic Seal. Friends, family, and local dignitaries made up the nearly 750 people in attendance for the annual ceremony.

The Pulaski County Educational Consortium in a joint effort with the Pulaski County School System, the Somerset Independent School System and the Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) implemented the special program in which students who met specific criteria related to work ethic and soft skills received a special seal on their high school diploma and transcript.

Through involvement and support by business and industry, the Work Ethic Seal will be validated by employers who view the seal as an important credential in identifying potential employees with a demonstrated work ethic. Qualifying seniors will receive a Gold Seal on their transcript and diploma, a senior cord to wear at graduation and a letter of recommendation signed by the superintendent of their local school system, the President of the Pulaski County Educational Consortium and the President of SPEDA.

The program was extended to juniors in 2004-05. Juniors who qualify will receive the same letter of recommendation as seniors, but must re-qualify as a senior to actually receive the seal. Juniors receive a Work Ethic Seal Portfolio for their accomplishment.

Students must meet the following criteria to qualify for the work ethic seal: no unexcused absences for the 2022-23 school year, no more than three unexcused tardies or early dismissals during the 2022-23 school year, have no more than one disciplinary referral, maintain a grade point average of 2.5 with no failures, and submit a resume and completed application to the Work Ethic Seal Program. Also the student must be involved in at least two of the following: organized team sport (intramural, JV, Varsity), extracurricular programs (Band, Chorus, Clubs, ETC.), part-time employment (10 hrs./week for 4 consecutive months during the school year or a minimum of 20 hrs./week during the summer months), or Verifiable Community Service Project (must provide documentation).

Before the Work Ethic Seal awards were presented on Tuesday, keynote speaker Dr. Tori McClure, Spalding University President, delivered an informative speech on her amazing life adventures and experiences.

McClure was the first woman to row a boat, alone, and without assistance, across the Atlantic Ocean. It took her two tries. On her first solo journey in 1998, McClure rowed more than three thousand miles before being hit by a hurricane. A year later, Tori returned to try again and was ultimately successful.

McClure was one of the first two women and one of six Americans who were the first Americans to travel over land to the geographic South Pole, skiing 750 miles from the ice shelf to the pole. An avid mountaineer, Tori has climbed on several continents and was the first woman to climb Lewis Nunatuck in Antarctica.

McClure told about her adventures and her many struggles along the way, which included her rowboat getting capsized multiple times in her first attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She also talked about her struggles in navigating Antarctic in a total "white out."

"Seven different days when we traveled in 'white out' conditions," Dr. McClure remarked. "White outs happen when the clouds come down under the surface of snow. Up is white, down is white, left is wife, and right his white. You literally cannot see the ground in front of you. And how you navigate in the white out, you take a compass and look for any landmark 180 degrees due south."

McClure explained how she followed what she thought was a landmark for hours, only to find out the landmark she thought she saw was a spot of frost on her sunglasses

"Whenever I think of that story, I think we all have choices of the landmarks we choose to follow," Dr. McClure said to the large audience gathered at the Center. "We all have choices of the people we pick as mentors. We all have choices of the leaders we choose to get behind and make sure your glasses are clean. Take a look, and choose wisely.

"When you're having trouble navigating, think of those most difficult times in life with the forks in the road," McClure continued. "High school seniors, you're about to get 'a fork in the road' from high school, to college or are you going into a career? Make sure that at the forks you pay attention to those really amazing coaches, teachers, mentors, parents and grandparents whose vision you trust and follow their advice.

"Take in if it speaks to your heart. If it feels true to you, follow it," Dr. McClure emphasized. "If it doesn't fit, don't, and carry on. We all have magical people in our lives and particularly for those of us who have been really knocked down, that's the moment to look around for those magical people, those faithful people, those spiritual people who will lift you up. And if you are doing well and have a colleague or a fellow student or a sister student who is down, reach down and lift them up."

On top of the several mementos awarded to each Work Ethic Seal honoree, they each received a signed copy of Dr. McClure's inspirational book entitled "A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean."

Following is a listing of the seniors and juniors honored in the Work Ethic Seal Program:

Pulaski County Juniors

Mason Acton, Kaytra Anderson, Blake Atwell, Chloe Baker, Joshua Bales, Ryan Beam, Karen Bello, Will Blankenship, Allie Blevins, Grayson Blevins, Wesley Cathers, Kelbi Cain, Chloe Carpenter, Bryce Cowell, Kenzie Cupp, Katie Dalton, Riley Dunaway, Wessen Falin, Adilynn Frei, Brennon Gibson, Jasmine Gover, Brock Green, Katherine Hamilton, Cali Hannah, Kaitlyn Helsley, Maggie Holt, Cade Inabnitt, Ambree Johnson, Seth Kissinger, Lexi Lawless, Damien Lyles, Syd Martin, Jaxon McCollum, Keegan Measel, Adessa Meece, Ana Muse, Samantha Peters, Terissa Price, Damien Ramirez-Serna, Zander Simpson, Paris Smith, Kaydon Sparks, Sara Stevenson, Camden Tackett, Chance Todd, Nate Unthank, Ashlynn Vaught, Alexis Werth, Samuel Whitaker, and Jalen Wooldridge.

Somerset Juniors

Kennadi Asher, Josie Bashn, Isaac Blakeman, Abigail Bowers, Allison Bryant, Daylan Dungan, Emily Ford, Emme Goforth, Michelle Gonzalez, Christopher Gross, Caleb Hall, Mary Hawk, Ava Hunt, Mollie Lucas, Riya Patel, Brady Reynolds, Any Rodriquez, Hana Saich, Matthew Satterly, Eric Tucker, Payton Wesley, Indred Whitaker, Colyer White, and Emma Wilson.

Southwestern Juniors

Arwa Abd, Mariah Andrews, Felicity Baird, Selene Basaldua, Jessie Cauley, Aiden Coulter, Alyssa Deason, Madison Dick, Adam Edwards, Cole Eldridge, Logan Fineberg, Skyler Flowers, Lindsey Goldson, William Gregg, Terae Handlos, Shelby Holmes, Josie Hughes, Anna Jensen, Dillon Johnson, Abbygail Keaton, Kelsey Lawhorn, Gavin Merrick, Hayden Moody, Alexis Morrow, Serenity Murrell, Nathaniel Neumann, Mariah Padgett, Diya Patel, Ohm Patel, Madeline Peterson, Kevin Pierce, Khloe Pierce, Adam Piontek, Haley Raleigh, Garrett Robertson, Lindsey Rollins, Cameron Shipp, Katie Smith, Kylee Stout, Gavin Watkins, Alexis Wheeler, Jacob Whitaker, Wynter Wilson, Jaydelynn Woodall, and Adyson Wooldridge.

Southwestern Seniors

Austin Abbott, Jasmine Akin, Joshua Amundson, Graden Baker, Audrey Beaty, Kaylee Black, Michael Bruckman, Trey Brunton, Jeferson Camarena-De La Cruz, Kathryn Carrington, Baylee Collingsworth, Beau Coomer, Ashlan Cunnagin, Loran Drake, Ian Dunlap, Aiden Epperson, Jared Farmer, Annelise Frietch, Adriana Gaulzetti, Sidney Hansen, Jasmine Harness, Aliya Hatfield, Elijah Haynes, Dawson Hicks, Jaslyn Hudson, Holli Johnson, Sydney Jones, Mahailey Kincer, Connor Ledbetter, Carley Martin, Charles McGuire, Hilton Mercado Mercado, Gabriel Nazario, Jamaica Neumann, Hanh Nguyen, Margee Patel, Caleb Perrin, Coleton Smith, Zachery Smith, Lily Supinski, Haley Toth, Kyra Vaught, Abigail Watters, Jack Wilson, David Wolf, Holly Wolke, and Andrew Woods.

Pulaski County Seniors

James Caleb Abbott, Madalyn Baker, Riley Bates, Katelyn Baugh, Taylor Brown, Kayla Brummett, Emily Burns, Brady Cain, Abigail Clevenger, Megan Coffey, Alexandra Cundiff, Elizabeth Dalton, Mason Daugherty, Aubrey Daulton, Brysen Dugger, Calli Eastham, Thomas Eubank, Gracie Fain, Anna Farmer, Rylie Fischer, Sawyer Gambill, Henry Gillum, Carlee Godbey, Mya Gregory, Katrina Grigsby, Kenedy Hamilton, Kameryn Hargis, Kyndal Haste, Declan Hays, Marisa Hines, Kaleb Hyden, Pearsyn Ingram, Audrey Jasper, Nancy Jones, Morgan Keith, Johnathon Kier, Cayden Lancaster, Sadie Landon, Marshall Livesay, Halle Jo Mayfield, Jessica Moers, Gilma Morales-Lopez, Anna New, Briley New, Brylee Perkins, Mckenzi Pinkston, Gabriel Rader, Gavin Rader, Sarah Rose, Allie Sexton, Madison Sexton, Kaydence Shadoan, Katelyn Taylor, Kailey Turner, Jazmyn Vanhook, Melody Weihrauch, Morgan Whitis, and Barek Williams.

Somerset Seniors

Julia Beasley, Lillian Beattie, Zachary Cantrell, Aiden Corder, Max Carter, Hayden Dick, David Dinh, Ethan Gadberry, Joshua Gross, Nathaniel Ham, Chestina Huff, Breanna Keeney, Jia Patel, Brandon Phelps, Lain Prather, Alexander Ropke, Christian Ruscitto, Lexi Salamone, Dakota Salmons, Martine Solberg, Justin Southard, Chrisstie Troxell, Roger Ward lll, and Max Yeast.

Contact Steve Cornelius at scornelius@somerset-kentucky.com.