Booker High School celebrates hundreds of seniors

Booker High School commencement speaker Kila Sons told attendees that after childhood dreams in the past, it was hard to believe the moment of graduation had finally arrived. 

She said while it seemed impossible to choose from all of the careers available, she plans to pursue a fine-arts degree in musical theater.

"My acting teacher, (Sunny Smith), taught me last year that it doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to be real," she said. "This feels real. I will always cherish my time at Booker High School, and I'm really proud of the woman I am today."

However, adding to the significance of the moment were the records the school broke that day, according to Principal Rachel Shelley.

As attendees filled Robarts Arena, she said the ceremony celebrated the most seniors in the past 15 years, with over 340 students, as well as a record graduation rate of 95%.

She called herself "so very, very proud of this class" as she prepares for her retirement after 15 years with the school.

Graduate Judeah Deveaux, who is going to Southeastern University to study psychology and social work, said that she felt like the day was a mission accomplished.

"I would say that I'm just proud of us all, and that we accomplished so much this year, and every year that we had school, we pushed through and worked hard," she said. "And now we're able to walk the stage and show everything that we did."