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Graduates Ready for the Big Day!

6/2/2017

The joy of receiving a high school diploma is right around the corner for some 1,830 Richland Two seniors. Despite all of the doomsday and Y-2-K predictions being made in 1999 around the time many of these students were born, they have made it to the time-honored tradition of graduation. Students are prepared and ready for the workforce, college, and careers in the military and beyond. Commencement ceremonies will be held at the Colonial Life Arena on Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3.

Along the way there have been some setbacks and comebacks. Many are familiar with Westwood High School student Mark Mickens’ story. Mark was a junior when he suffered a life-changing injury in 2015 while playing in a school football game. A neck injury left him paralyzed and dependent on a wheelchair for mobility. Despite his challenges, he has performed well academically, is graduating, and will be attending Midlands Technical College in the fall.

This graduating class includes Spring Valley High School’s Jenning Chen who is the only female in the world to earn a perfect score on the AP Calculus BC Exam. She was also named a 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholar. Chen was one of four Richland Two students who made it to the semifinalist round of the competition. Richland Two had the most semifinalists of any school, public or private, in the state. The other semifinalists were: Hezekiah J. Branch, Ridge View High School; and Albert L. Huang and Tanvi M. Mehta, Spring Valley High School.

While scholarship totals are still being calculated, the following are some top scholarship recipients in Richland Two’s Class of 2017:

Blythewood High School: Adele Bradley - $752,928 in scholarships, attending Duquesne University
Richland Northeast High School: Eneida Schroeder - $1,070,100 in scholarships, attending Winthrop University
Ridge View High School: Megan Reardon - $400,000 in scholarships, attending US Naval Academy
Spring Valley High School: Tanvi Mehta - $482,096 in scholarships, attending Yale University
Westwood High School: Cameron Wormack - $876,500 in scholarships, attending The University of South Carolina

Richland Two students are headed to a variety of schools, including Presbyterian College, Spelman College, Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, Colorado State University, Howard University, North Carolina A & T University, Tufts University, The Citadel, The University of Notre Dame, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and Yale University.

Schedule of Ceremonies
Friday, June 2, 2017
Noon - Westwood High School
4 p.m. - Spring Valley High School

Saturday, June 3, 2017
8 a.m. - Blythewood High School
Noon - Richland Northeast High School
4 p.m. - Ridge View High School

Tickets are not required for admission. Guests should plan to park one hour prior to graduation and arrive at the arena 30 minutes before the ceremony is scheduled to begin. Ceremonies start on time. If you can’t make the event, all high school graduations will be streamed live on the Richland Two steaming portal: http://livestream.com/richland2