The end is near for high school seniors

Published 6:30 am Saturday, May 13, 2017

As the graduation day nears for the class of 2017, seniors are gearing up to take on the world, be it in the workforce or in college.

Limestone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tom Sisk said every group of seniors are unique because they each have their own personality.

“I’m excited for the class of 2017 and I am excited for their families,” Sisk said. “I look forward to reading about their accomplishments as they enter the next chapters of their lives and I want to applaud them on this accomplishment.”

Sisk said between the six high schools in the district, a number of seniors brought home state champion titles and even national titles from competitions like SkillsUSA, a career and technical school student organization.

“They’ve been very successful academically and we’re proud of them,” he said.

As dual-enrollment class attendance increases in both public and private schools nationwide, the number of students graduating with college credits is skyrocketing.

Of the 28 seniors at Athens Bible School, five of them already have their associate’s degrees from Calhoun Community College and Northwest Shoals Community College — and they haven’t graduated from from high school yet.

Randall Adams, ABS president and principal, said he thinks all of the seniors have plans to attend college after high school.

“I hope they’re well situated to accomplish their many dreams,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing them spread their wings.”

Fast-growing careers

As technology and job-field demands continuously change, according to an article on salary.com, some of the fastest-growing jobs in America for 2017 are jobs in the health care field such as health educator, dental hygienist, audiologist, physical therapy assistant and ultrasound technician. All of these careers average more than $45,000 in salaries per year. A home-care aide makes an average of $21,309, the article said.

For bilingual students, a translation job may be the way to go with a $43,499 average salary. Other fast-growing careers include cost estimator, market research analyst/marketing specialist, meeting or event planner and biomedical engineers.

Be it straight to college or straight to work, high school seniors around Limestone County have 13 days until the final graduation ceremony is over.

Graduations times and dates

• Ardmore High School — 4 p.m. Thursday, May 25

• Athens Bible School — 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 23

• Athens High School — 7 p.m. Friday, May 19

• Clements High School — 4 p.m. Friday, May 26

• East Limestone High School — 8 p.m. Friday, May 26, at Calhoun Community College gym

• Elkmont High School — 6 p.m. Thursday, May 25

• Lindsay Lane Christian Academy — 7 p.m. Friday, May 19, at Lindsay Lane Baptist Church sanctuary

• Tanner High School — 6 p.m. Friday, May 26

• West Limestone High School — 8 p.m. Thursday, May 25