North Stafford High School Highlights: Celebrating the Class of 2024

Last month, North Stafford High School and other high schools across the country celebrated and proudly sent off their high school seniors. North Nation encourages your path in life no matter where you go and what you choose to do. We celebrate and commend our 2024 graduating seniors for their hard work and dedication for the past four years. 

The class of 2024 displayed excellence in their academics and sports, and their ability to keep going. They also harbored a desire to learn despite all the challenges of COVID-19. They were brought into a whole new school as freshmen and were required to learn virtually. Despite the challenges and difficulties of learning virtually, they excelled in every way and still graduated proudly this year. This class displays excellence in every way and proves that if they can get through these challenging times, so can you. 

Some seniors gave their advice to underclassmen as well as how the road to graduation was because, as we all know, graduation can be very overwhelming and difficult. 

"The college application process was an emotional rollercoaster because I applied late. At first, I was going to go into the military, but I changed my mind. Still, the process was really easy because I had some friends who helped me work through it," said Hakim Sesay, a 2024 high school graduate who will be attending Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in the fall. If you are a student in a similar situation as Hakim, don't worry because there is always an option for you no matter what you do. 

Hakim also shared his experience changing his diploma halfway through his high school career. 

"I didn't want to take some classes (like Spanish) anymore because I wasn't getting anything from it. Also, trying my best on assignments over the years and turning in work increased my GPA. I almost didn't meet graduation requirements because I had multiple unexcused absences. Still, I got back on track," he said. "My advice to underclassmen and rising seniors is to come to school and make it count, do your best so you won't have to keep doing the same thing over and over again. Quite frankly, it's not worth the waste of time," he shard, adding a "#GORAMS!" 

Sesay Hakim's advice is crucial if you are someone who is chronically absent. If you are that person, do not worry: it isn't too late to get back on the right track. 

"My advice is to not stress too much, but also don't wait until the last minute to do something," advised Carlee-Scott Alley, a 2024 high school graduate going to Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in the fall. 

Abigail Ferguson, an extremely hardworking and dedicated individual, also provided some words of wisdom. 

"Applying to college was very stressful because I didn't know what college I wanted to go to, and I did it without help from anyone," she said. 

She plans to attend Virginia Wesleyan University in the fall and also plans to work during college through a plan that VWU offers to help students pay their tuition. 

Like Abigail Ferguson, many students struggle with college tuition and wonder how they will be able to pay for college as well as other expenses. If you find yourself in a similar situation or are curious about what schools offer similar tuition programs, talk to your counselor and reach out to any colleges in your area to see what they offer. 

"The road to graduation was really challenging, but I am graduating a year early. I decided this a few months into my junior year. I took challenging courses throughout my high school career and stayed on an advanced diploma track," Abigail said. "My advice to underclassmen is to go to class. Do the work. Get it over with. Don't give yourself a reason to question where you'll end up." Abigail's advice further expressed how important it is to make sure you're attending class and doing your work. Her experience also demonstrates how, despite taking rigorous and challenging courses, you can still excel because you can do anything you want. 

Let's congratulate the class of 2024 one more time for all of the hard work and dedication; they truly displayed "North Excellence," as well as "Wolverine Pride."