Two of the many senior traditions took place this past weekend: Honors Night on Friday, May 16 and Baccalaureate on Sunday, May 18.
Highlights of Honors Night include Jonathon Kane winning the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, paying full tuition to any Indiana school, public or private, Madison Cook winning the Outstanding Female Athlete Scholarship, and Connor Holcomb claiming the Outstanding Male Athlete Scholarship. Also, Baccalaureate featured a speech by Mr. Matt Rickey, carnation gifts to parents, and 35 students celebrating graduation through Christianity.
At seven o’clock Friday evening, close to 80 seniors and their families packed into Cole Auditorium for the 48th annual Honors Night and to receive an hour-and-a-half worth of scholarships that totaled well into the thousands of dollars given to college-bound students. Clad in their caps and gowns, all seniors left with a smile and a great deal of pictures taken, but best of all, each senior’s hard work was recognized on a community-wide level, as over 70 community organizations honored them with money and all families and peers honored them with applause.
Senior Cassie Gaff, a student committed to Boston College in Massachusetts, received five scholarships on the night, including: the Noble County Community Foundation, INC. “Top Honors” Scholarship, the Max Sneary, M.D. Memorial Scholarship, the Jonah W. Slater Memorial Scholarship, the P.U.L.S.E. Endowment In Memory of Dave Knopp Scholarship, and the Kendallville Rotary (Richard Stonebraker) Scholarship.
“I applied to all the scholarships that I received and lots that I didn’t, “ Gaff says. “But I think that the greatest thing about this night is the recognition that the top students receive. Throughout high school, students work hard in the hope that someday they will have something to show for it. This night is a beginning of their future.”
Closing out the busy weekend, Baccalaureate was held at two o’clock in Immaculate Conception’s church on Oak and Diamond Streets. 35 seniors and their families joined in a short, hour-long ceremony involving hymns, poems, and prayer. Led by the student-ran Baccalaureate Committee, the ceremony provided a Christian setting for students who follow Christianity, casually and zealously.
“It took 3 weeks to plan Baccalaureate. We met once a week, but we also had things to do on our own too,” explains Abigael Stephens, a senior and one of nine members of the Baccalaureate Committee. “My favorite part was hearing Mr. Rickey speak. He’s one of my favorite teachers. I really liked hearing what he had to say about faith and being in the world.”
Accompanied by eight other seniors, Stephens led the ceremony with a spoken part, a poem of her own, called “Off to College.” “Honestly, I was a little nervous,” said Stephens. “Not because of speaking in front of a crowd, but because it was my first time ever sharing a poem I had written. Until the ceremony, no one had seen my work.”
On behalf of East Noble, The Knightly Scroll thanks the Guidance Department, the Baccalaureate Committee, and other members who assisted in the creation and execution of these two events.
The next event to honor our seniors is Senior Breakfast on June 6, the final day of school, which allows the students and their families to eat breakfast before they take their period 2 final exams and rehearse for graduation.