The 2018-2019 school year ended on a high note with 351 students crossing the commencement stage at the Rock Island High School Class of 2019 graduation ceremony at the TaxSlayer Center on Saturday, June 1. 

 

Those 351 individuals earned over $3 million in college scholarships and funding, devoted over 2000 volunteer hours in the community, let sports teams to victory and raked in awards for music, arts and academic excellence. Some embarked on an entrepreneurial endeavor, others earned certifications in nursing and welding while others focused on career pathways from education to engineering. 

 

In her four years at Rock island High School, Anastasia Jacobs is "proud to be graduating from a school that does not require its students and teachers to always stay in the lines, but rather encourages us to push the boundaries...Our education at Rocky has taught us to break those barriers down and encourage us to develop a new perspective, which gives us a valuable tool we can use in our future." 

 

Emily Jansen feels ready for the next stage in her life. "Everyone is going their different directions, but our future decisions were not made out of carelessness. Whether we made the decision to go on to future schooling, go into the military or go straight into the workforce, our past years [at Rock Island High School]  have prepared us to move on at this turning point in our life."

 

Rock Island High School Principal Jeff Whitaker summed up the student potential as he presented the Class of 2019 to the Superintendent: "I am confident that our graduating students will leave us today and make all of us extremely proud. I know this because we have the best students any school has to offer."