Wednesday, June 5, 2013
The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.net
Page 1D
Senior projects help students look to the future
ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald@gmail.com
Kings Mountain High School seniors
spent countless hours and wrote reams
of copy to complete senior projects.
The goal is to give students a chance
to explore a field or occupation they
may have interest in. They are graded for
their work. The grade makes up a big
portion of a senior’s final English IV
grade, a class they must pass to gradu-
ate.
But each semester, as senior projects
are turned in for their final counts, stu-
dents go beyond the call of exploring an
area of interest. In the process they look
to the future.
Naeemah James, 18
“| love to cook,” says Naeemah
James.
So it was natu-
ral for James, a
student in Foods II
at Kings Mountain
High School, to
choose something
to do with culi-
®| nary arts manage-
{| ment that she
: plans to pursue as
- a student at Art Institute in the
Raleigh/Durham area of the state.
“Fad Diets vs. Healthy Eating” was the
subject of her project. She reached out
to Summit Place and added color in the
dining room in the form of floral
arrangements while working with dieti-
cians to complete her project. Naeemah
also completed SERVSAFE certification
in food safety this semester at KMHS and
found that one of her real loves is baking
and decorating cakes.
At KMHS she was Homecoming
Queen last October, played in the KMHS
band six years and sang with the chorus
this year. She is active in Family Com-
munity International Leaders of America
and in First Baptist Church of Lawndale.
Naeemabh is the daughter of Candice
and Ronnie McKinney.
Carsyn. Bolin, 18
Caryn Bolin started cheerleading with
Kings Mountain Optimists at age 5 and
dancing at age 2 and hasn't stopped. The
vivacious senior
loves what she
does and does
what she loves.
Cheerleading
at KMHS softball
games for three
bi years and at foot-
I" ball and basket-
ae #8 ball games for
one year and teaching at Dance Reflec-
tions keeps her busy.
“I've been dancing 14 or 15 years and
I love it,” she said. :
Her senior project was interacting
with Alzheimer residents at Summit
Place in Kings Mountain. The topic of
her paper was “Alzheimer Disease” and
she learned lots, she said, while volun-
teering at the facility several times a
week and researching the disease.
Carsyn pians to enroll this fall at the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
and major in Middle School Education.
At KMHS, she danced in the musical,
“Wizard of Oz” and was active in Span-
ish Club, Student Participation Organiza-
tion, and Health Education Career
Students (HECS.)
Daughter of Jeff and Kelly Bolin, she
has helped out at the family day care
center. She is also active in First Wes-
leyan Church.
De’ajsha Adams, 17
A career in the military is the dream
of De’Ajsha Adams, who is beginning
that goal by joining the Army National
Guard. ;
This summer she will be training in
Oklahoma and then in advanced in-
fantry training in Virginia. She hopes to
see the world in her chosen field, begin-
‘ning with the Kings Mountain National
Guard.
Daughter of De’Etta Wright and Mar-
quis Adams, she runs track at Kings
Mountain High
School and also
plans to attend
Gaston College.
She has three
brothers: De’An-
dre Adams, 19;
* Donterious
Adams, 16; and
A MEE "Marquis Adams
Jr., 10. The family is active in St. Peter
Baptist Church in Grover.
“The Benefits of Athletics Organiza-
tion” was the topic of De’Ajsha’s senior
project. A volunteer with cheerleading
teams, including the Elite basketball
team, she wrote about the importance of
athletics in a person's life and the joy
that association and attending sports
events brings to a well-rounded educa-
tion.
Dionté Byers, 19
When Dionté Byers walks across the
stage at John Gamble Stadium to receive
his diploma he will mark a milestone in
his life for many reasons.
“I have been on my own since the
age of 14,” says
the proud and
happy young man
who sings bari-
| tone with the
Kings Revue at
| KMHS and has
enjoyed music
| since age 7. “I
ne don't give up,”
said Byers, who credits his strong faith in
the Bible with his success.
The grandmother he affectionately
calls “Mama Pie” and his sister, Shanti,
23, and brother, Romeo, will be in the
audience for graduation, as well as a
girlfriend and other friends.
“Teenage Vehicle Safety” was his sen-
ior project and he worked with Kings
Mountain Police Department Ptl. Jason
Dee. He learned how to be safe as a
driver/ passenger in a vehicle, observed
police equipment and also wrote “don’t
text while driving” and like most stu-
dents recently at KMHS pledged not to
text while driving.
He looks forward to graduation and is
keeping his fingers crossed for a PELL
grant to that he can attend Gaston Col-
lege for two years and transfer to N.C.
State University to study mechanics and
technology.
Dionté likes to cook and his celebra-
tion dinner with his girlfriend may be
steak with all the trimmings.
, Andrew Buchanan, 17 3
“It’s real cool what we do at our
church for missions,” says Andrew
Buchanan, whose senior project was
“Importance of Foreign Aid to Missions.”
Family Worship Center of Kings
Mountain is a big sponsor for missions in
Zambia, Africa, and Buchanan handed
over letters to mis-
sionaries and met
Ezekiel when he
visited the church
recently to thank
the congregation
for their generous
support of mis-
sions. Andrew
: worked with a
member of his church on the project.
Andrew works 10 hours a week at
Mauney Memorial Library as a shelver.
That's an important job, says the library
staff, to place books back on the shelves
and keep inventories.
Son of Thomas and Tina Buchanan
and grandson of Cornelia Buchanan, has
a sister, Ciera, 18.
Big in soccer at KMHS, he has been a
member of the Beta Club for two years,
and on the National Technical Honor So-
ciety. He has studied drafting and archi-
tecture for three years and plans to study
engineering/drafting at the University of
North Carolina at Charlotte.
With so many options, sometimes
what to do next is a difficult decision
of
Chase (left) and Ryan Hullender are pictured here with their mother, Kim, before their sen-
ior prom. The boys have many options but remain undecided about where to attend college.
+ DAVE BLANTON
dave kmherald@gmail.com
It was decision time a
few weeks ago for college-
bound seniors all over the
country. But KMHS stu-
dents and twins Chase and
Ryan Hullender just can’t
seem to pull the trigger on
any precise plans for fur-
ther education.
I'm chronically indeci-
sive,” said Chase, who ap-
plied and was accepted to
a dozen schools, including
the University of North Car-
olina at Chapel Hill, UNC-
Wilmington, East Carolina
University and the College
of Charleston. “It makes
everything much harder.”
Brother Ryan is less anx-
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ious about having no solid
plans yet for the summer or
fall. “I’m still deciding what
I'm going to do. Just not
absolutely sure yet,” he
said as the two 17-year-
olds talked earlier this
week about their plans and
dreams.
Whatever the fraternal
twins decide, it's unlikely
they'll take up one another
as counsel or wind up in
the same place.
“We're completely dif-
ferent,” Chase said. Out-
side of a small core group
of friends they've both
known since early child-
hood, “we have a very dif-
ferent circle of friends.”
Chase's interests run to-
ward science and academ-
ics, and he ticks off a list of
scholastic achievements:
National Honor Society,
Vice President of National
Beta Club, Vice President
of Spanish Club, member
of the Student Participation
Organization. “I love vol-
unteering,” he said, adding
that he racked up more
than 100 hours of commu-
nity service in high school.
Meanwhile Ryan says
what motivates him is find-
ing a career that excites
him and keeps him on the
move. Lately, he’s been
thinking he might attend a
local community college to
take classes in law enforce-
ment so that he can be-
come a police officer. “I've
had experience working. A
job can get boring after a
while. | don’t want any-
thing that's going to get
boring.”
Neither of the twins par-
ticularly relishes leaving
Kings Mountain. They say
they'll miss their friends
and playing soccer for the
Mountaineers. “I'll have to
See HULLENDERS, 6D
Congratulations |
- Hailey Rotenberry! |
Spread those
beautiful wings and |
fly. We are so proud |
; - you are loved.
afge Eric, Mom, |
3 Brett, Mammaw |
OD atl | *