By Ainsley Hall
SPRING MILLS — Spring Mills High School’s Class of 2024 was celebrated for its accomplishments and impact on the community during Monday night’s graduation ceremony.
The school recognized 382 graduates, who all worked hard to complete their high school diploma. Families and friends filled the stands as they cheered on the graduates.
This year marked the first group of students to complete their education, from start to finish, on the Spring Mills campus.
Principal Mark Salfia talked about how these students were the ones to shape their community and set the standard for generations to come.
“The main thing I hope students take away is that they had an impact on this whole community,” Salfia said. “Our campus grew up around the community, and it’s because of these students that we are where we are today. From the time this school first opened, it’s a night and day difference because of the climate they created.”
Spring Mills High School ended the year with 22 students entering the military.
Many students also plan on continuing their education by attending college at West Virginia University, Shepherd University, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Potomac State College, Marshall University and many more.
After all their dedication and hard work, the graduates were excited to take the next step in their lives. As they waited for the ceremony to begin, Mason Swanson and Colin Parker were thinking about their plans to attend college in the fall.
Being recognized and celebrating their accomplishment marked the end of their high school lives but the beginning of something better.
“This really makes it all worthwhile,” Swanson said. “All the time you spent studying and all the work you put in really pays off in this moment.”
“This is one of our first big milestones,” Parker added. “For some people, it might be their only graduation ceremony, because they might choose not to go to college. It means different things to different people, but this celebration is important for everyone.”
Graduate Kamrie-Lyn Alder plans on attending Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and hopes to go to law school in the future. She shared how important it is to have this opportunity to come together and celebrate all the students’ accomplishments.
“I’m one of the first in my family to graduate, so this means a lot,” Alder said. “This is a big deal for me and the whole community.”
Alder was one of four students to address their peers during the ceremony. Another student who spoke was Bryan Cole, student body president.
“This culture was not an accident,” Cole said during his speech. “A great culture has an aspiration that is amplified over and over and over again. Our aspiration was to create the best student experience in the state of West Virginia, and we have created the best student experience in the state of West Virginia. The culture that we designed as a class has been like no other. We have seen a noticeable change in culture since our freshman year. We have truly shown every school in Berkeley County that we are Spring Mills.”