Student council president Kaitlin Snapp, who McKinney coached while she won multiple cross country state championships, explained to the audience the meaning of the term “swag,” a kind of confident individuality she said the class exhibited in abundance. Snapp was joined by senior class president Jessica Payne, and class scholars Dowell Harmon, Rachel Newcomb and Zaid Siddiqui, in addressing the class and enumerating many of the accolades McKinney said helped set their place in the school’s history.
There were 13 athletic state champions. A forensics team that continued its success by winning all of the major state tournaments. A perennially successful academic team.
Among the litany of accomplishment, though, the one mentioned with pride most frequently was the school’s highest ever cumulative ACT score. The 20.3 average score was a two point improvement over the previous year, placed the school 30th among 230 high schools in the state. It also tied the school for second in the state in terms of largest one-year improvement.
Snapp said the class combined its self-assuredness with a sense of compassion for one another and those they encountered along the way. She quoted the mantra of one of the class’s most talented musicians, Waylon Duff, in illustrating how close the group had become over its years together:
“Everybody loves everybody.”
2012 graduates of Danville High School are: Isabelle McCawley Ballard, Jennifer Quezada Barrada, Alea, Keyanna Bates, Lonisue Nicole Bell, Cheyenne Autumn Bolin, Karla Mesha Chwilinski, Megan Fern Coleman, Christina Michelle Combs, Kristin Lee Critchfield, Sarah Elizabeth Critchfield, Alexus Danielle Doneghy, Hannah Fayeth Dotson, Jessalyne Ladawn Dye, Natalie Ann Ellis, Quincy Blair Essex, Anna Grace Fons, Rikki Blaze Fortunato, Dantea Rayshel Furlow, Ashten Ne’Chole Graves, Michaela Denise Hawkins, Wendy Marie Howell, Emily Nicole Jacobsen, Myleia Brion Johnson, Ashley Marie Lambert, Abigail Marie Lester, Lindsey Paige Lewis, Dessera Hope McClendon, Helena Cherine McCowan, Olivia Leigh Moler, Rachel Leanne Newcomb, Diamond Elaine Pace, Jessica Reneé Payne, Samantha Ann Pennington, Kaylan Lynn Perkins, Jordyn Marie Perry, Lauren Nicole Peyton, Savannah Renee Ray, Zoe Aleta Reed, Rachel Renee Rigsby, Mary Caitlin Rolph, Meriah Ann Jean Rose, Amanda Logan Russell, Madeline Marie Salinas, Shelby Elizabeth Sinkhorn, Kaitlin Rose Snapp, Nia Madisen Stallworth, Amanda Lynn Stamper, Brandy Rose Stubbs, Stephanie Tapia, Adrianna Kaitlyn Taylor, Kengerald Tacarra Thomas, Shelley Paige Wallace.
Aleyandro Ayala Jr., James Austin Baxter, Harse Tyler Beldon, Rhodes Ray Bell, Dearshon Marchase Berry, Jonathan Thomas Beto, Blake Alexander Bowman, James Dylan Bradshaw, Marcus Quontez Brown, Monty J. Bryant II, Charles Robinson Caudill, Ryan Christopher Clark, Dylan Carlyle Crow, James Waylon Duff, Vichet M. Duong, Jeremiah Andrew Ferguson, Tryston Isaiah Ford, Tanner Michael Goodman, Rollins Leonard Grubbs, Michael McDowell Harmon III, Leroy Jones Hawkins, Karl Willis Hempel, Taylor Ireland Hesselbach, Hamani Kwesi Ingram, Nathan Scott Johnson, Antony Marquette Key, Charles, Andrew Lane, Andrew Cole Lasure, Matthew Robert Logan, Marc Etienne Manheim, Cody McCormack, Tevin Lee McElroy.
Drafton Tate Peck, Christopher Michael Jordan Porter, Austin Jerome Ray, Demitri Max Ray, Dugan Alexander Reed, John Maxwell Searcy, Derick Michael Sharkey, Zaid Khursheed Siddiqui, John Joseph Thompson, Jonathan David Turpin, Marqueese Dontel Laquinte Walker, David Henry Welch, Samuel Josiah Weston, Allante Dominique Whitehead, DeVanté Devereaux Whitehead, James Wright Williams, Jacob Anthony Winkler, Dewayne Marquise Yocum.
