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Relief, joy for RH seniors at graduation
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Richmond Hill High Schools Chris Rivera pumps his fist in the air after walking across the stage Saturday afternoon at the Savannah Civic Center. - photo by Photo by Alena Cowley

With all the work he put into graduate, Dawson Nicholls said he wanted to throw his cap high in the air right after Superintendent Dr. Paul Brooksher conferred his high school diploma.

"I have not slept since Tuesday and I’m actually very proud that I’m here today," Nicholls said after the ceremony Saturday afternoon between his photos with family and friends.

He almost did not meet certain requirements, but did what he needed to in order to graduate.

As a short-range goal, Nicholls said he was looking forward to getting out of his graduation garb and eating a bowl of cereal. Long-range, he is planning to go to college and "make a ding in the universe."

Plans for Nia Beamon are college, law school, and "I’ll see from there."

"It’s kind of surreal, but it feels amazing. I’m glad to be done with high school, mostly though," Beamon said, adding how she will miss some parts of her experience, but she is ready for the future.

The nearly 500 graduates could hardly contain their excitement as cheers seemed to continually ring out throughout the ceremony, from the processional to the recessional. A packed Savannah Civic Center was bursting at the seams, too, with loud hoots, hollers, hands in the air, and even fog horns as administrators called names.

Their time in school since kindergarten totaled one million minutes, the equivalent of 234,000 plays of the Gangnam Style music video, senior class Vice-President Chris Sewell told the crowd during the ceremony’s formal welcome.

Within their 720 days of high school were times of work and fun, Sewell described, encouraging his classmates to continue that balance.

"No matter what you find yourself doing, go out of your way to enjoy it," he said. "Keep on working hard and playing hard."

Light laughs rippled through the audience as salutatorian Mason Murphy used his experiences with procrastination to point to a larger life lesson.

"With all the talk today about conserving our non-renewable resources in the world, it’s remarkable that we have yet to mention the most important out of all of them and also the one most taken for granted— time," Murphy said. "When we use our time effectively to engage in active pursuit of our goals, we are able to far surpass anything we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do."

Valedictorian Braden Chapman thanked teachers and reminisced on notable times before sharing his own high school take-aways and encouraging his classmates to thank their parents.

"Keep in mind, as we move on to this next stage of life, the teaching value of failure and the meaning of good friendship. Those two lessons will take you far in life," Chapman said.

Things started out lighthearted with talk of school lunch chicken fingers, but became emotional when senior class President Victoria Shuman took the podium after the graduates moved their tassels from right to left.

As they enter the world as young adults, Shuman said their high school memories will remind them of "who we want to be, who we are, and what we want."

"Knowing these, I have no doubt in my mind that we will all achieve success in our own way," Shuman said.

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Groups hand out scholarships
RH theater scholarship
Richmond Hill High School senior Jacey Shanholtzer shows her Dawn Harrington Berry Spotlight Award, which was awarded by the Richmond Hill Community Theatre and includes a $500 scholarship. With her are Tom Harris, Ashlee Farris, Brett Berry and Kim Diebold. The award was created in memory of Dawn Harrington Berry, a long time RHCT member and president who died in 2016. - photo by Photo provided.

Three reports recently presented scholarships

Richmond Hill High School senior Jacey Shanholtzer received the Dawn Harrington Berry Spotlight Award, which was awarded by the Richmond Hill Community Theatre and includes a $500 scholarship. The award was created in memory of Dawn Harrington Berry, a long time RHCT member and president who died in 2016.

Garden Club

The Richmond Hill Garden Club recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Katherine Wood and a $500 scholarship to Carly Vargas, both seniors graduating from Richmond Hill High School.

The awards were presented May 8 during Honors Night at RHHS.

Wood plans to attend Green Mountain College in Vermont and major in environmental studies.

Vargas plans to attend Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, to pursue a degree in either environmental studies or biology.

The garden club awards a $1,000 scholarship annually to a local high school senior who plans to major in a field related to environmental concerns, plants and/or gardening.

This year, due to having two exceptional candidates, the garden club awarded an additional $500 scholarship.

Exchange Club

The Exchange Club of Richmond Hill recently named Caroline Odom as its student of the year.

The club each month during the school year names a student of the month, and the student of the year is chosen from among those winners.

Awards are based on academic performance, community involvement and leadership.

Monthly winners receive $100, with the annual winner getting a $1,000 scholarship.

The Exchange Club has been recognizing students for more than 30 years.

Odom will go on to compete in the Georgia District Exchange Club against students from across the state.

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