By Alicia Couch Payne

On Tuesday, May 14, 2019, members of the faculty for the Buford City Schools were on hand to honor the best of the class of 2019, as well as the class of 2020 at the Fine Arts Center in Buford, Ga. The mood inside of the FAC building was celebratory.  Students and parents alike wore expressions of pride.  Pride in the fact that the honored students had given their all and that they were receiving recognition for all of their hard work.

The 2019 Academic Awards Ceremony were emceed by the head of the Buford High School language arts department, Dr. Tim Harris and Ms. Kim Staples, BHS theatre director.  Over 20 faculty members handed out awards to 278 juniors and seniors. Awards made possible by the generosity of the BHS Academic Booster Club members. The BHS Academic Booster Club contributed monetary awards to the top academic achievers in the Senior class.

The first awards were given to those who participated in All-State Chorus, All-State Band, Literary Team, and One Act Play.  Up next were the academic achievement awards.  Students who maintained a certain average throughout their high school career were recognized, as well as, students who were named AP Scholars, National Merit Scholars, and winners of the Science Fair.

Buford also celebrated the students who, over a four year period demonstrated excellence in a particular subject or those who showed excellence while on a Career Tech or Fine Arts Pathway.  The teachers who instruct in the 19 different categories proudly gave the student selected in their subject their award.

Former Interim Superintendent, Mrs. Joy Davis, along with BHS Principal, Mr. Ed Shaddix recognized the student who took home the ESL Exemplary Award.  They also honored the STAR student and the teacher the student selected as their STAR teacher. Mrs. Lynda Fouquette, an ESL teacher at BHS was given special recognition for being such an amazing educator and for winning the 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year for both the high school and then entire Buford City School System.

Last but certainly not least, it was time to announce the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for the Class of 2019.  Winners of the titles along with $1,000 scholarships given out by the Academic Booster Club were called out.  The 2019 Salutatorian is Mitchell Whalen.  A young man dubbed “a true Renaissance Man” was announced as the Valedictorian, Mr. Harry Miller.

Students and their friends and family filed out of the auditorium at the FAC building after closing remarks by Dr. Tim Harris.  Parents making sure to get in their fill of photos of their bright students crowded the lobby.  Buford High School will soon let these exemplary young adults lose, to go out into the world and make their mark on it.

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STATE COMPETITION AWARDS

All-State Chorus

Over 7,000 singers audition each year for the Georgia All-State Chorus. Singers are required to sing a solo, scales, read three musical examples that they have never seen before, and pass an arduous music theory test. If they should succeed in that first audition, they are then required to pass a rigorous second audition where they must sing each piece that will ultimately be performed at the All-State Chorus event.

Congratulations to the following students who were selected for All-State Chorus this year: Karrie Bryson, Quinn Conrath – Quinn was also named to the All-State Reading Chorus, the first-ever BHS student to achieve this honor., Presley Dale, Hope Fowler, Jonathan Ingram, Jacob Lenz, Nathan Montini, and Hayes Stewart – Hayes was also honored for being a six-year member of All-State Chorus; he was selected every year from grades 7 – 12.

All-State Band

All-State Band is an elite honor that involves a rigorous audition process at both the regional and state levels.  Fewer than 7% of the 4500 students who audition are selected for All-State Band. This year the following students were selected to All-State Band: Paul Kwak, Jaden Skelton, and Dylan Wiggins.

Literary

Every year, Buford High School competes in Literary, where students compete in both academic and artistic competitions.  This year the Buford High School Literary Team, led by coaches Dr. Chris Fowler, Joy Fowler, Tim Harris, and Kimberly Staples, won their seventeenth consecutive region championship and their eleventh consecutive State Championship.

Literary Team Members: 

Alternates in Trio – Heather Liley, Presley Dale 

Alternate in Quartet – Nick Warren 

Literary Team Members Who Placed at REGION:

2nd Place at Region: 

Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking – Zane Harkness 

International Extemporaneous Speaking – Harry Miller 

Literary Team Members

REGION CHAMPIONS and PLACED 2ND AT STATE: 

Argumentative Essay – Andrew Humble 

Rhetorical Essay – Mitchell Whalen 

Boys Solo – Jesse Hanks 

Trio – Karrie Bryson, Hope Fowler, and Hanna Hopper 

REGION CHAMPIONS AND STATE CHAMPIONS: 

Personal Essay – Max Whalen 

Dramatic Performance – Chloe Bonds 

Humorous Performance – Quinn Conrath 

Duo Performance – Carrianne Crawford and Trevor Dodge,

Girls Solo – Hope Fowler 

Quartet – Quinn Conrath, Jesse Hanks, Jonathan Ingram, and Kris Meier.

One Act Play

In November 2018, our One Act Play won the GHSA Class 5A State Championship with their production of the musical Company. Mrs. Kimberly Staples received a plaque by the Academic Booster club on behalf of all the students who were involved in the production.

Additionally, three students were recognized at the State Championship for outstanding performances. Chloe Bonds and Avery Long were both named to the All-Star Cast, and Trevor Dodge was named the overall Best Actor for his performance as Bobby.

Academic Achievement Awards

AP Scholars

Each July the College Board releases the names of students who have been designated as “AP Scholars.” These students have demonstrated excellence by posting impressive scores on the nationally-recognized AP Exams. Note: these awards are based on AP scores through the end of the junior year.

The AP Scholars for the Class of 2019 have earned a score of 3 or higher on at least three AP Exams: Anthonia Adeleke, Seth Auer, Taylor Bailey, Alex Beeco, Keighly Brown, Carter Colquitt, Camille Cowherd, Ansley Cushing, Camden Enoch, Jacob Hennen, Madison Herrmann, Hanna Hopper, Skylar Hudson, Heidi Hyatt, Taylor King, Jacob Lenz, Matthew Militello, Avian Rossum, Marian Russell, Colin Sharp, Olivia Sibley, Grant Thomoff, Kathryn Voorhees, Erin Wright, and Camden Young.

The AP Scholars with Honor for the Class of 2019 have earned an average AP score of at least 3.25 and scores of 3 or higher on four or more AP Exams: Lindsey Adler, Claro Gomez, Cameron Hall, Zoey Herrington, Andrew Humble, Kathia Jaramillo-Mayo, Britiney Johnson, Sean Kirkpatrick, Kira Lucas, Lizbeth Martinez-Gomez, Hildeberto Mayo-Sanchez, Maggie McSwain, Anthony Miller, Krisztian Pal, Blakely Phillips, Aidan Smith, and Ivy Xiong.

The AP Scholars with Distinction for the Class of 2019 have earned an average AP score of at least 3.5 and scores of 3 or higher on five or more AP Exams: Hannah Barnard, Chloe Bonds, Emma Copeland, Trevor Dodge, Ben Espy, Todd Goehmann, Zane Harkness, Harry Miller, Hayes Stewart, Austin Turner, Max Whalen, and Mitchell Whalen.

National Merit

Each October, 11th graders nationwide take the PSAT with the hopes of being recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. This year several members of the BHS Class of 2019 have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Three students in the BHS Class of 2019 have been named National Merit Commended Scholars, a designation that places them among the Top 3% of all students in the nation who took the PSAT in October 2017. They are Trevor Dodge, Ben Espy, and Mitchell Whalen.

Additionally, Ben Espy has been recognized as a National Merit Hispanic Scholar for posting a PSAT score among the top 7000 of all Hispanic/Latino juniors who took the PSAT last year.

Finally, one member of the Class of 2019 has been named a National Merit Finalist and Scholarship Recipient: Zane Harkness.

National Merit Finalists submit academic records, essays, and letters of recommendation in order to be considered as one of the 2500 eventual scholarship recipients from across the nation. As a National Merit Scholarship winner, Zane has earned an award of $2500 from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Science Fair

Each year, many BHS students participate in the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair.

This year, for the first time in school history, two Buford students earned one of the top prizes and qualified to move on to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, taking place this last week in Phoenix, Arizona.

Though they are not at the Awards Night because they were in Arizona competing, BHS would like to recognize Jonathan Gonzalez and Estefanía Hernandez-Medrano for this outstanding achievement. Jonathan and Estefanía’s project, entitled “The Effect of Blue Light on Circadian Rhythms of Madagascar Roaches” tested to see if blue light from cell phones affects sleep patterns. Science Department Chair Ms. Lisa Cole accepted the awards on their behalf.

2019 Departmental Awards

Fine Arts – Instrumental Music:  Dylan Wiggins

Fine Arts – Choral Music:  Hayes Stewart

Fine Arts – Theatre: Trevor Dodge

Fine Arts – Visual Arts:  Emma Copeland

Fine Arts – Dance:  Riley Deep

Physical Education:  Emmanuel Bravo

Technology and Career:

Education:  Hanna Hopper

Healthcare Science – Patient Fundamentals:  Zoey Herrington

Healthcare Science – Sports Medicine:  Alexandra Appling

Nutrition and Foods:  Kaitlyn Carannante

Graphic Communications:  Patrick Walker

Marketing and Management:  Anthonia Adeleke

Business:  Treasure Beavers

Construction:  Hannah Morgan

Academic Core Classes:

English:  Harry Miller

World Languages:  Blakely Phillips

Math:  Mitchell Whalen

Science:  Zane Harkness

Social Studies:  Max Whalen