Fifty new Killeen ISD graduates tossed their official caps of five different colors in the air Thursday in celebration of finishing high school.
The annual KISD mid-year commencement took place at the Harker Heights High School auditorium and included students from Ellison, Chaparral, Harker Heights, Shoemaker and Killeen high schools.
Enthusiastic friends and family members cheered as each student walked across the auditorium stage, received congratulations and their diploma from KISD Board of Trustees members, Superintendent King Davis and five high school principals.
The event began with students processing into the auditorium to familiar Pomp and Circumstance.
The host Harker Heights High School Junior ROTC provided posting of the colors, and Harker Heights senior and four-time All-State choir member Benji Contreras provided the National Anthem.
First Sgt. Danita Cotton encouraged new graduates to continue striving for excellence.
On May 12, 2007, in North Carolina, Cotton said she walked across the stage to earn her diploma and that she was deeply uncertain about what was next. Convinced her life had purpose, she joined the Army and in 2009 found herself in combat Afghanistan.
She completed two combat tours and won the Army 10-miler. In 2020, she earned a college degree.
“It’s OK to dream and dream big. It’s OK to have goals,” she said to the graduates. “You are strong and brave, and you have what it takes to prepare for what’s next. We are depending on you to be even better than we were.”
“I’m overly excited. I just graduated,” said Chaparral High School graduate Jasmyn Julius, currently a college student working on a degree in biology. “I had some good experiences in high school.”
“I am relieved. I can go to college and just be an adult,” said Harker Heights graduate Honor Kelly, off to study computer science. “I’m going to remember my friends the most. We had a lot of fun.”
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720331607482