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Marietta High graduation

MICHAEL KELLY The Marietta Times Lexie Mullen, senior class vice president, waits to lead the procession Sunday afternoon of 2018 Marietta High School grads to seating in the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center on the Marietta College campus for the school’s 166th graduation ceremony.

The program for the Marietta High School Class of 2018 graduation listed 213 names, and the front of the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center was a pool of orange and black Sunday afternoon as another class of Tigers was sent out into the world.

Student body president Aryn Robinson told the gathering during the invocation, “Always remember those who walked before us, keep in mind those who come after … we are never alone.”

Class president Brent Armor told his classmates the most significant lessons often are not those learned in class. “They are from friends and family,” he said. “Look around you, think about everyone you see, what they’ve meant to you … do unto others as you would have them do unto you, because we can’t go back in time to right wrongs.”

Success is a lifelong journey, valedictorian Meredith Coil said. “You have to put in the work while no one is watching, and it’s critical to embrace the lessons of failure. We can learn more from our losses than our wins,” she said.

It was an emotional event for Tracy Lamp as she watched her daughter, Nikita Lamp, receive her diploma. Nikita is a mother as well as a student.

“I’m pretty excited,” Tracy, 42, said. “The (Washington County) Career Center has been 100 percent behind her, and so has Marietta High School. It’s been awesome, she’s been accepted by four colleges.

“It’s been rough, but she’s come out on top with the help of the faculty at the career center and the high school.”

Vicki Smith was in the audience to watch her granddaughter, Audrey Smith, graduate. Audrey, she said, comes from a family of pipefitters but she’ll be going into medicine.

“She’s going to American University in Washington, D.C., to study pre-med biology,” she said.

Superintendent Will Hampton — who is especially close to this class because his son, Tucker Hampton, was one of its graduates — said he was proud of them.

“It’s a pretty exciting group of kids,” he said. “I am especially very proud because this class was awarded more scholarships than any class before it, $3 million worth. They’re taking a wide variety of paths, ranging from military enlistment to advanced degrees. These are some bright kids.”

Outside the center after the ceremony, new graduate Elena Donnelly said she was looking ahead to attending Miami University in the fall. She’s the first student to have graduated with two associate degrees through the College Credit Plus program at Washington State Community College, she said, which means she’ll start at Miami as a sophomore.

For the summer, she said, “I’m going to be with family and friends.”

Dalton Kennon won’t have a lot of summer to worry about. “I’m going to Lincoln Technical School in Indianapolis for the associate degree in diesel mechanics,” he said. “It starts June 25.”

For Tasha Werry, executive director of Building Bridges to Careers, the afternoon held some sentimental value.

“This is the last class I taught at Washington Elementary School,” she said. “I had them as fifth graders. This is a scary time to be in the world, but they might not realize that.”

Collin Doughty intends to make some memories this summer before heading to University of Rio Grande in the fall, where he’s earned a full-ride scholarship in track and field. He intends to study in a medical technology field, and he’s not worried about the world out there.

“It’s a big world, and I’m from a small town, but I’m ready for it,” he said.

Marietta High School Class of 2018

Graduates: 213

Class motto: “In the end, it doesn’t even matter.”

Color: Red

Song: “Good Old Days”, Macklemore

Flower: Sunflower

Valedictorian: Meredith Coil

Salutatorian: Brent Armor

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