BLACKSVILLE — Calliope Beers — “Cal,” to all who know her — didn’t have to paint a picture Sunday afternoon.
“Oh, yeah, I’ll definitely miss people,” the member of Clay-Battelle’s Class of 2024 said, as she waited for graduation ceremonies to begin on the sunny afternoon at the combination middle and high school in western Monongalia County.
“But I’m really ready to get started on what’s next.” What’s next for her is Fairmont State University, where she’ll commence her art education studies as a freshman this fall.
Calliope and 50 of her classmates went forth on the football field to the cheers of their families, who packed the bleachers and filled the parking lot.
For Clay-Battelle, with its roots in the community deeper than a West Virginia coal mine, it was a diverse, multigenerational audience.
Young couples with baby strollers intermingled with grandparents — a number of whom were high school sweethearts at C-B.
Principal David Cottrell couldn’t help but hit on those chords of community and family in his remarks to the audience.
“They’re good human beings,” he said of the 85th round of seniors to pass through the halls of the school.
“We’ve watched them grow into very productive young people. As a principal, I couldn’t have asked for a better class to work with.” A productive class, academically, the principal said.
C-B’s seniors pulled in more than $850,000 in scholarships, he reported.
Six were awarded the Promise scholarship, he chronicled further, and 30 more were career technical education completers through combined studies at their school and the Monongalia County Technical Education Center.
Katey Powell already had a job interview set up for a dental assistant job, in fact.
“I’m pretty confident,” she said. “We’ll see.”
Basic training, meanwhile, is in Brady Nestor’s immediate future.
In July, the MTEC-trained diesel mechanic reports at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C., as a member of the U.S. Army National Guard, with possible plans on going onto active duty down the road.
“I’m ready for an adventure,” he said.
Ella Lybarger knows all about the Army and adventure.
The senior class president was a self-described “military brat” whose family settled back in West Virginia right as she was on the brink of middle school.
Not only was she the “new kid” — she was also the smallest kid in class.
Which meant getting picked last at recess.
And don’t get her started on dodgeball, she said.
Ella, who is bound for college in Alabama this fall, told her classmates to enjoy life while riding with the inevitable setbacks.
Understand there will be struggles and occasional failures, the pre-Calculus veteran said.
Be serious, the class president advised — but not too serious: “Never think that you’re too ‘old’ to watch ‘The Lion King’ with your dad.”
