President Rachel Ansley turned the program over to Dayton High School Principal Geoff McCracken and DHS counselor Sara Williams. They bragged about the Class of 2023. “This group of students were freshman when we went out for Spring Break and we did not come back. The pandemic really affected this group. Just as they were getting comfortable being in high school, the world shut down. The Class of 2023 has overcome so much and I am extremely proud of their tenacity, their resilience, and their determination to overcome,” stated McCracken.
Mrs. Williams introduced each young lady. The five Rotary Scholarship winners were:
⦁ Rebecca Johns- She will be going to Texas A&M to pursue a career in the engineering field. Rebecca has been active in cheerleading, golf, theater, FCCLA and other extracurricular activities. She is involved in many honor societies and has been an officer of NHS, SNHS, NEHS, and NTHS. As a Junior, she competed in the DHS Science Fair under the engineering category which gave her first-hand experience and a glimpse into what the engineering world is like. She is graduating in the Top Ten Percent of her class.
⦁ Carleigh Clark- She is ranked #10 out of 373 graduating seniors. She too has been extremely active in high school. Carleigh is an active member of the award-winning Dazzler group, FCCLA, and serves as the Historian to the NHS and is member of several other honor societies and organizations. Through a dance accident incident, she found her passion and future career. She will be attending Texas A&M University in hopes to pursue a career in athletic training.
⦁ Geraldine Lopez- Another Honor Graduate from the Class of 2023, Lopez has been active in many different clubs and organizations. She is active in the Bronco Band and is this year’s Drum Major. She is a member and holds various leadership roles in FCCLA, HOSA, and Student Council. She is also a member of three different honor societies. She plans on getting her computer science degree and eventually become a software engineer. Geraldine will be attending Texas Tech University in the fall.
⦁ Madison Salas- She is impressively graduating #3 in her class. In her junior year, she found a passion for chemistry therefore, Salas will be attending A&M and studying engineering. She will be a first generation college student for her family. She has been very active in four different honor societies, FCCLA, Student Council and has been very active in FFA where she serves as Vice President this year. Madison also earned her Floral Design Certification this year and was FFA’s Sweetheart.
⦁ Emma Pierce- An outstanding softball player, Emma and her team are moving on to Round 3 in the State Playoffs. She has helped keep the 15 year consecutive year of the Softball girls going to the playoffs. However, she is also an outstanding student and is graduating #6 in her class. She will be attending San Jacinto Community College- South Campus to continue her athletic and academic career with hopes of transferring to Texas A&M and graduating with an engineering degree. She was born in Japan when her father was in the military giving her dual citizenship. Emma is a member of numerous honor societies, FFA, and has played volleyball, softball and was in powerlifting during her high school years.
Also attending the Rotary meeting was this year’s Class of 2023’s Valedictorian and Salutatorian. Both ladies gave their bios to the club members. Nupur Purhoit is this year’s top graduate. A position that she has held on to since her freshman year. She will be attending University of Texas in the fall and was very active throughout her years in high school. Jireh Sagun is graduating as the Salutatorian of the Class of 2023. She too is planning on attending the University of Texas. Both Nupur and Jireh have been very active in multiple honor societies and have competed throughout their high school year in numerous competitions.
The Rotarians were impressed with these outstanding young ladies. President Ansley lead the group in the 4-Way Test before adjourning the meeting. The Dayton Rotary Club wishes these ladies along with the entire Class of 2023 best wishes in their future endeavors.