SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2024
1B
Class of 2024
THE COASTLAND TIMES
Cape Hatteras Secondary commencement launches 54 graduates
These three graduates of Cape Hatteras Secondary School will join the U.S. Coast Guard as their blue sashes proclaim. Joining the U.S. Coast Guard are, from left, Derek Garcia Rodriguez, Noah Alexander Baker and Raven Soleo Castillo Harkrader. Baker and Harkrader are North Carolina Academic Scholars.
By Mary Helen Goodloe-Murphy mhgm@thecoastlandtimes.com
Cape Hatteras Secondary School’s gymnasium was filled with family members and friends to witness the start of new adventures for 56 members of the Class of 2024. A festive spirit was abroad in the gymnasium. Families brought bouquets of flowers, held up photos of soon-to-be graduates and arrived early to claim a row or rows of seats. Portions of the commencement program
were delivered in English and Spanish by class members, like Abby O’Neal and Ronald Contreras-Garcia, who introduced the guest speaker, high school teacher Natasha Farrow and one of three class sponsors. She challenged the class to “find the courage to grow, the strength to persevere and the wisdom to embrace life’s imperfections.” Class sa lutator ian Sherlyn Ingrid Mendieta-Lozano commented on the “smiling faces here” for the seniors. She emotionally thanked her
MARY HELEN GOODLOE-MURPHY PHOTOS
CHS seniors at start of the event.
parents, who drove her from Hatteras village to monthly Board of Education meetings in Manteo and waited until the end to take her home. She told her classmates, “you will always have a home on this precious island.” Grace Vernesoni, the class va led ic tor ia n, praised the small island community. She said “Go out into the real world …” Cape Hatteras
Secondary School’s commencement ceremony was the last of the three high schools in the Dare County Schools system. First Flight High seniors graduated Friday, June 7, 2024, outside. Manteo High School Class of 2024 graduated Saturday morning, June 8, at the Lost Colony Waterside Theater. For the first time in several years, all members of
the Dare County Board of Education attended the 2024 commencement at Cape Hatteras Secondary School of Coastal Studies. The members of the Class of 2024 Cape Hatteras Secondary School are: Lency Abreo-Ibarra, Derrick James Allen, David Amortegui Valencia, Noah Alexander Baker, Alyssa Morgan Bryan , Dominic Clyde Caputo,
Raven Soleo Castillo Harkrader, Jazira Indigo Dream Christ, Landen Maddox Clark and Ronald Kevin Contreras-Garcia; Maddox Archer Cromwell, Derek Ray Cunningham, Jackson Isaiah Davis, Mari Wynn Dove, Robert Alan Eakes Jr., Abigail Layne Edwards, Derek Garcia Rodriguez, Jordan Calvin Harris,
See Hatteras, 9B