“The Class of 2017 is one in which Gwinnett County Public Schools and the greater Gwinnett community can take great pride,” says CEO/Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks. “This is a highly decorated class in terms of scholarships and accomplishments. They are among the best prepared of any graduating class and are prepared for the next chapter in their lives. We wish them well and congratulate them on their hard work and persistence, knowing they are ready for the future. And, while the focus is on the graduates at this time of year, I also would like to thank their families, the thousands of dedicated teachers, and the committed administrators who provided support and guidance to them throughout the years.”
The senior report for the Class of 2017 shows that:
• 85% of the students graduating this year report that they plan to continue their education by attending college or postsecondary schools. The vast majority, or 85% of them, plans to attend college in Georgia.
• The seniors who plan to continue their education have been offered, as of April of 2017, more than $181 million in academic, athletic, and military scholarships.
• The majority of the scholarship amount, more than $94 million, was earned for academic achievement. Gwinnett students also received nearly $80 million in athletic scholarships, and more than $7.6 million due to military appointments. The monetary awards do not include HOPE or QuestBridge Scholarship recipients.
• As of May of 2017, 19 Gwinnett seniors earned a full scholarship through the QuestBridge College Match Program. Five of the seniors are Archer High School graduates.
• 19 Gwinnett students received military appointments. The students are:
School | Student | School/Branch |
Archer HS | Alicia Suciu | United States Naval Academy |
Brookwood HS | Sana Daley | United States Air Force Academy |
Brookwood HS | Bailey Hopkins | United States Air Force Academy |
Brookwood HS | Clarissa Jolley | United States Air Force Academy |
Collins Hill HS | Jacob Gregory | United States Naval Academy |
Dacula HS | Paul Harris |
United States Military Academy |
Discovery HS | Jaden Stanley-Williams | United States Air Force Academy |
Duluth HS | Gregory Pelland | United States Military Academy at West Point (Army) |
Grayson HS | Jake Killian | United States Military Academy at West Point (Army) |
Mill Creek HS | Branton Fletcher | United States Military Academy at West Point (Army) |
Mill Creek HS | Amya Hudson | United States Naval Academy |
Mill Creek HS | Sara Scales | United States Military Academy at West Point (Army) |
Mountain View HS | Michael Sobczyk | United States Air Force Academy |
Norcross HS | Sean Mckendree | United States Air Force Academy |
Norcross HS | Ryan Stark | United States Naval Academy |
North Gwinnett HS | James Thigpen | United States Naval Academy |
Peachtree Ridge HS | Mackensie Nechanicky | United States Air Force Academy |
Shiloh HS | Julian Mcduffie | United States Military Academy at West Point (Army) |
Shiloh HS | Israel Koker-Thomas | United States Military Academy at West Point (Army) |
• Mill Creek High graduates the largest class this year with 952 students, followed by Brookwood High with 786, and Norcross High with 755
• The Class of 2017 also includes 3,092 Honor Graduates, who are graduating with a grade percent average of 90 or better.
• During their high school career, 6,982 seniors took Advanced Placement (AP) courses and 3,341 scored a 3 or above on an AP Exam.
• While members of the Class of 2017 were working on their high school diploma, 891 of them also earned college credit through the state’s Move On When Ready (MOWR) dual enrollment program.
Several of these honor students were recognized as the highest ranking students in their school, earning the title of valedictorian or salutatorian. They are:
School | Valedictorian (1st in Class) |
Salutatorian (2nd in Class) |
Graduates | Honor Graduates |
Archer HS | Erduana Omeragic | Caleb Kim | 651 | 213 |
Berkmas HS | Alvin Chen | Diane Lin | 525 | 93 |
Brookwood HS | Tony Zeng | Karl Patram | 786 | 238 |
Central Gwinnett HS |
Qasim Hassan | Michelle Vo | 473 | 70 |
Collins Hill HS | Camden Jones | Shakrik Punja | 714 | 208 |
Dacula HS | Thandiwe Persaud | Paul Dittamo | 455 | 93 |
Discovery HS | Obumneme Godson Osele |
Tiffany Nguyen | 453 | 58 |
Duluth HS | Suk Joon Na | Tsvetomira Peykova | 601 | 167 |
Grayson HS | Mirela Vojnikovic | Katherine Meadows | 688 | 201 |
GSMT | Sabarish Sainathan | Kyle Patel | 195 | 91 |
GOC | Karen Elizabeth Cranston |
Sarah Kearns | 119 | 2 |
Lanier HS | Danny Nguyen | Michelle Derewitz | 375 | 103 |
Meadowcreek HS | Aljon Pineda | Brittany Castaneda | 595 | 98 |
Mill Creek HS | Mohamad-Baasim Rehan |
Bryan Endsley | 952 | 349 |
Mountain View HS | Santiago Escobar | Cheyenne Stewart | 470 | 118 |
Norcross HS | Alice Peng | Jennifer Lynn Wang | 755 | 138 |
North Gwinnett HS | Victoria Fonzi | Jonathan Park | 662 | 287 |
Parkview HS | Tanish Pradhan | Kiara Harding | 704 | 198 |
Peachtree RIdge HS | Eric Yan | Josephine Rudd | 748 | 263 |
Shiloh HS | Mehul Mehra | Anya Solomon | 456 | 49 |
South Gwinnett HS | Diana Kalima | Kaila Lattimore | 540 | 55 |
The graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2017 will take place as follows:
Monday, May, 22, 2017
Phoenix High |
Location
Infinite Energy Theatre |
Time
7 p.m. |
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Meadowcreek High |
Infinite Energy Center |
3 p.m. |
Dacula High | Infinite Energy Center | 8 p.m. |
Central Gwinnett High | Central Gwinnett Stadium | 7 p.m. |
Gwinnett Online Campus | Gwinnett Online Campus Auditorium |
7 p.m. |
Brookwood High | Brookwood Stadium | 8 p.m. |
Mill Creek High | Markham Field @ Mill Creek |
8 p.m. |
Parkview High | Parkview Community Stadium |
8 p.m. |
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Discovery High |
Discovery Stadium |
8 a.m. |
North Gwinnett High | Infinite Energy Center | 8:30 a.m. |
Lanier High | Infinite Energy Center | 2 p.m. |
Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology |
Infinite Energy Center Exhibit Halls |
5 p.m. |
Peachtree Ridge High | Infinite Energy Center | 7:30 p.m. |
Friday, May 26, 2017
Norcross High |
Infinite Energy Center |
8:30 a.m. |
Mountain View | Infinite Energy Center | 2 p.m. |
Collin Hill High | Infinite Energy Center | 7:30 p.m. |
Saturday, May 27, 2017
South Gwinnett HIgh |
Infinite Energy Center |
8:30 a.m. |
Duluth High | Infinite Energy Center | 2 p.m. |
Grayson HIgh | Infinite Energy Center | 7:30 p.m. |
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Shiloh High |
Infinite Energy Center |
1 p.m. |
Archer High | Infinite Energy Center | 6 p.m. |
*Monday, May 29, 2017
Berkmar High |
Infinite Energy Center |
8:30 a.m. |
*Memorial Day