“My name is Sara Beth Grubb. My parents are Mark and Amy Grubb,” she wrote. “My interests include cheerleading and serving in the children’s ministry at my church. I loved high school because of all of the friends and memories I made. My favorite memory was cheering at state my sophomore year with my best friends. The small school atmosphere allowed me to develop stronger relationships with my teachers. My favorite subject was Biology. I will be attending Milligan University this fall to major in Exercise Science. I plan to become an Occupational Therapist.”

MaKenna Lewis is the daughter of Judith and Jeff Lewis. MaKenna has always taken an interest in creative pastimes such as painting and photography. She loves to use most of her free time hiking and kayaking with her family and friends. The classes she enjoyed the most were Biology, Language Arts and Family & Consumer Sciences. Some of her favorite memories include being a student teacher at Hunter Elementary, nailing half-times with the cheer-team, homecoming weeks, cheering for her brother’s senior year of basketball, the hilarious cooking fails she and her friends had in Mrs. Burton’s room, and going to the lake after school with her boyfriend.

MaKenna plans to go to ETSU and pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology. She plans to continue her education with a Master’s Degree and eventually obtain a Ph.D. She hopes to use her degree to help people through therapy and to teach others about the stigmas of mental health.  She wants to move to a new state with beautiful scenery and live in a progressive and open-minded community. Her biggest goal is to always do what makes her happy and never stray from who she is. She also wants to never stop trying new things and set new challenges and goals each day.

“I am Lilie Kiser, the daughter of Melissa Andrews,” Kiser wrote. “I am interested in having fun, keeping others safe. Some things I loved about school was still being able to be a kid, not feeling like I had to be a grownup just yet, friends that came with it, and pushing myself to do better in my studies. My favorite subject would have to be medical or history, however math was always the easiest for me. I plan on attending ETSU and majoring in nursing. After I get my degree I plan on going back for two more years to become a nurse practitioner. I plan to use my degree to help babies who need extra attention as a neonatal nurse. My goal in life is to give back to others and help them like I have been helped before. “

“I am the son of David and Melissa Day,” he wrote. “My interests are band, and music in general. My favorite thing about school is meeting new people. My favorite subject is science, specifically with Mr. Herald. I plan to attend Tennessee Tech for a bachelor’s in Biology and PreMed. After that I plan to attend medical school for specialization. I plan to use my degree to help cure diseases and illnesses as much as I can.”

“My parents are Ben and Heather Williams,” she wrote. “My interests include cheerleading, singing and being involved with my youth group at Hunter First Baptist Church.

“I loved Unaka High School because my teachers and principal always made me feel like I belonged. I know that friendships I made with some of them will last a lifetime. My favorite subject was Biology. Mr. Herald always made it interesting…HARD, but fun. I was involved in Key Club and FCA, as well as cheerleading. Some of my favorite memories will always be cheering on the Rangers in either basketball or football. I was able to sing the National Anthem at a couple of football games. While that was a little terrifying, it was very rewarding in that it led to other opportunities for me to sing at different school events.

“I am enrolling in Milligan University, where I will be pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education. God has given me a passion for kids: to help them succeed, to let them know that they are special, to make sure they know they are loved, and to make my classroom a safe place for them to learn. I will also be cheering on the Milligan Buffaloes as a Milligan Cheerleader. High school being over is sad, because I will miss different people and experiences, but I am excited for what my future holds at Milligan. I know that there will be many new friendships and memories made and that thought makes me excited to be a BUFF!”

“I am Jennifer Sexton, the daughter of Justine and Robert Sexton,” she wrote. “My interests include reading, painting and building.

“In high school my favorite subjects were Art and Robotics. The first time I helped build a robot at school, is what got me interested in engineering. This past year I became the captain of the Robotics team. We made it to the finals! Although we did not win, I was so happy, because we had made it farther into the competition than we had ever done before.

“I plan to attend Northeast State for my core classes and then transfer to pursue an engineering degree. My goal in life is to become an engineer and, once I retire, to become a teacher.”

“I am Ashlynne Carver, daughter of Travis Carver and Amanda Grindstaff,” Carver wrote. “English and music were always my favorite subjects in school and sharing my passions with my classmates always warmed my heart. I loved going to the school events like the games and dances. I plan to attend ETSU and become a child therapist.”

“My parents are Nickie and Cole Grayless,” Tester wrote. “Some of my interests include reading, drawing, listening to music, and playing with my animals.

“One of the things I loved about high school was how close everyone seemed to be and how the teachers seemed to look out for everyone. If you were having a bad day, teachers would wait until they could talk to you privately and ask if you were OK.

“My favorite subjects in school were chemistry and biology. Some of my best high school memories happened during those classes. Thanks to my interest, Mr. Herald, my biology teacher, and Mr. Reis, my chemistry teacher, invited me to join the Science Bowl in my junior and senior years and the Scholar’s Bowl my senior year. We had a blast both years at the Science Bowl and the Scholar’s Bowl, despite not winning either competition.

“After high school, I plan on going into the United States Air Force and work as intel or as emergency management. During my time in the Air Force, I hope to travel and continue school. My goal in life is to be someone a person can look up to.”