Sebring McKinley graduates celebrate

Alliance Review
·1 min read
Graduates proceed out of Sebring McKinley High School's graduation ceremony after receiving their diplomas during the Class of 2024 commencement exercises on Sunday, May 19, 2024.
Graduates proceed out of Sebring McKinley High School's graduation ceremony after receiving their diplomas during the Class of 2024 commencement exercises on Sunday, May 19, 2024.

Members of Sebring McKinley High School’s Class of 2024 received their diplomas Sunday during a ceremony filled with tradition and special moments. School district and school officials took part in the event, which included addresses from Valedictorian Blake Thomas and Salutatorians Robert L. Helmick III and Velicity Twaddle. Sebring Local Superintendent Toni Viscounte gave the welcome address, and certified the class. McKinley Principal Brian Clark and School Board President Debra Green awarded the diplomas. During the event, Green paid tribute to a fallen member of the school’s Class of 2024, Emily Waseman. She died in 2014 after a battle with a rare form of brain cancer, at age 9. Green awarded her parents, Brian and Stefani Waseman, an honorary diploma in Emily’s name. The Sebring McKinley Class of 2024 had 33 members. The student completed several annual rituals during and after the commencement exercises, including the turning of tassels on their mortar boards, a ceremonial tossing of their caps outside the school and a short parade during which friends and family honor the students who just received their diplomas.

Sebring Board of Education President Debra Green, left, presents an honorary high school diploma to Stefani and Brian Waseman, the parents of the late Emily Waseman, who died in 2014 at age 9 after battling a rare form of brain cancer. Emily Waseman would have graduated Sunday with the Class of 2024. Sebring McKinley High School's commencement was held Sunday, May 19, 2024, in the school's gymnasium.
The Sebring McKinley High School Class of 2024 is seated during commencement exercises Sunday, May 19, 2024, senior in the school's gymnasium.
The Sebring McKinley High School Class of 2024 is seated during commencement exercises Sunday, May 19, 2024, senior in the school's gymnasium.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Sebring McKinley's Class of 2024 graduates