The Athens High School Class of 2023 recently revisited their elementary schools and participated in the Senior Legacy Walk. They were greeted with cheers and chants of “Let’s Go Athens” as they returned to where their educational journey began.

“Our Senior Legacy Walk is an event our students and teachers look forward to every year,” Julian Newman Elementary School Principal Sharla Birdsong said.

At Julian Newman Elementary, students lined the hallway with their black and gold shakers made and anxiously awaited the arrival of the big yellow buses bringing the seniors. Dressed in their caps, gowns, stoles and cords, the soon-to-be graduates gathered near the gym as the prepared for their stroll down memory lane.

Senior Marjana Abdur-Rashid attended JNES beginning in second grade. She said, “It’s bittersweet. Everything looks so familiar, but it is surreal seeing it again.”

As Pomp and Circumstance was played throughout the hallways, seniors made their way down the hall giving high wives to the students that looked at them with visible admiration. Some held signs of congratulations for those they knew personally.

Seniors stopped and hugged the educators that taught them the lessons they needed to get to where they are today. Some cried at the emotion of it all, and some grinned from ear to ear. Some attended elementary in Athens and some did not, but all recognized the importance of being a role model to the younger students watching.

Sydney and Shelby Hutcheson have been at Athens High School for a little over a year. They didn’t attend JNES but described the walk as “exciting.”

“We have cousins that go here, so it was great to see them,” Shelby said.

Across town at Cowart Elementary, Athens Elementary, and Brookhill Elementary, similar scenes unfolded. Seniors returning to Athens Elementary found a new school but familiar faces.

Following the Legacy Walk, students posed for pictures and visited old classrooms. At JNES, seniors were invited to borrow a Sharpie to leave their name and messages on the wall out side the cafeteria.

“This year was particularly emotional since it is the last group of graduates to walk the halls before renovations. As part of their legacy, we encouraged them to write a meaningful message or memory on the wall in the front corridor. Even though our next school building will be new, it will be built on a foundation of inspiration and cherished memories,” Birdsong said.