Editor's Note: This is the final part of a series featuring 2020 high school graduates. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette asked administrators and counselors of each high school in Benton and Washington counties to recommend a senior to interview.
For every graduation cap that's tossed high in the air across Northwest Arkansas in 2020 -- whether that's during a regular ceremony this summer or something less traditional -- there's a different story to tell.
Rogers Heritage High School
• Graduating class: 485
• Graduation plan: Ceremony to be held on the school’s campus at Gates Stadium at 8 p.m. July 9.
Providence Academy (Rogers)
• Graduating class: 15
• Graduation plan: Ceremony to be held Friday at the Ballroom at I Street in Bentonville.
Haas Hall Academy (Springdale)
• Graduating class: 7
• Graduation plan: Ceremony to be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the 112 Drive In movie theater in Fayetteville.
Farmington High School
• Graduating class: 185
• Graduation plan: Ceremony to be held at 10 a.m. July 24 at Cardinal Stadium.
Shiloh Christian School (Springdale)
• Graduating class: 67
• Graduation plan: Ceremony to be held July 7.
Greenland High School
• Graduating class: 62
• Graduation plan: Ceremony to be held July 17 at the school.
Gateway alternative learning environment (Bentonville Schools)
• Graduating class: 90
• Graduation plan: Students may participate in ceremonies with their home school, either West or Bentonville High schools, at 8 p.m. July 16 or 8 p.m. July 17, respectively.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette set out to tell the stories of some of this year's high school graduates.
Thirteen of those students have been featured over the past two weekends. The series concludes today with seven more.
DYLAN GREGORY
Shiloh Christian School, Springdale
Dylan Gregory never thought to mention his left arm stops at the elbow when he talked about his plans to attend college to play football.
"He doesn't even think of it, or at least he doesn't act like he does," said Debbie Diehm, Gregory's counselor at Shiloh Christian School. "What happens is you forget that he has an arm that doesn't work as well."
Gregory, 19, lives in Cave Springs and was born with a partial left arm, he said. He started playing football in third grade and went on to play on Shiloh's offensive line in high school.
"I play with one arm," he said. "It's something that I've really had to overcome, but I've gotten really proficient at it over the years."
So much so that the teen will be attending Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., in the fall to play football as a long snapper, he said.
"I just love the game a lot, and I just love the physicality of it," Gregory said, explaining he never shied away from playing football. "I really just saw how much I could improve myself in all aspects just from playing the sport."
Diehm said Gregory has stood out among his peers by overcoming circumstances that may have crippled others emotionally.
"It just didn't with him," she said. "He's so mature for his age."
Gregory said he's had less of a relationship with his birth mother than he would have liked over the years.
"It's helped me appreciate the people that you have in your life and not take them for granted," he said.
Gregory said he's grateful for his relationships with his father and stepmother, Eric and Blake Gregory.
"There's going to be people who will let you down even though they're close to you, but you have to kind of overcome that and find other people that will be there for you," he said.
Gregory will pursue a degree in computer science. Diehm said she's excited to see what the future holds for him.
"I don't know what God has planned for him, but I think he would be just an amazing example for anyone," she said. "Wherever he goes, he's going to command respect. I think that's just a given."
OSCAR CERAS
Rogers Heritage High School
It hasn't been an easy final semester of high school for Oscar Ceras. His father died Jan. 14. His grandfather died a month later. Both lived in Mexico.
"Two really hard hits," said Ceras, 18. "I missed almost a month of school."
Just as Ceras was recovering emotionally, the coronavirus pandemic closed schools to in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year.
"I miss my friends. I really miss the school," he said. "I wanted to spend more time there, because I know I'm not going to go back. All my friends wanted to spend more time there. I feel sad for them and for me."
Ceras' mother got a green card and brought him to Northwest Arkansas from Michoacan, Mexico, seven years ago, he said. Everything was new, and it was a struggle at first. But he adapted quickly, learned English and made friends, he said.
His interests and talents span a variety of areas. He likes to be a disc jockey. He took an automotive technology class at Northwest Technical Institute this school year. And for the past five years, he has worked for his uncle, who owns a carpentry business.
Ceras plans to go to Northwest Arkansas Community College, then transfer to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to study civil engineering. He'll be the first in his family to attend college.
He joined Heritage High School's League of United Latin American Citizens club and eventually rose to co-president his senior year. The club has about 150 members, he said.
One of the biggest influences on Ceras was Brig Caldwell, who was the school's student relations coordinator and community liaison until he died of cancer in December 2018 at 43.
Ceras initiated a club project last fall in Caldwell's memory. The club raised money through various methods to buy hundreds of toys -- more than 400, by Ceras' estimate -- which members delivered to Arkansas Children's Northwest for Christmas.
"Mr. Caldwell meant a lot to me. If I needed something, he was always there for me. He was always there for everybody. He impacted so many people," Ceras said.
Ceras had an impact on others, too. Tina McClure, a counselor at Heritage, said Ceras is gifted at helping and mentoring his peers. He tutored students whose first language is Spanish who needed help with math, she said.
"I have had many students tell me when they came in to see me about college or they were having a hard time, that Oscar encouraged them to come and seek out help," McClure said. "Or, he would tell them what they needed to know as well."
CAMPBELL HILL
Greenland High School
Sports played an important part in Campbell Hill's high school experience. The coronavirus pandemic deprived student athletes like her of opportunities to make a final statement.
Hill, 18, played basketball and ran cross country and track throughout high school.
Her track team, consisting of just herself and four other girls, finished state runner up in Class 3A last year. Hill expected good outcomes for this season, which the pandemic stopped after two meets, the last one March 6.
"We had two seniors, including myself. We had high hopes for sure," she said.
Hill is a lifelong Greenland resident who's attended schools in the city her entire life. The school district, with about 750 students, is one of the smallest in Northwest Arkansas. That's just fine with Hill.
"I can't imagine going to any other school," she said. "At a small school, you have such community support, such a community following. Fans will always show up for games. They really want to support academics and athletics."
Beyond that, she's happy to have grown up with so many of the same people.
"I've had the same group of friends, and it's a cool experience to do that. You know everybody, all the teachers know you. There are close relationships formed with everybody."
Her mother is a computer lab teacher at the elementary school. Having her mother as a teacher back then wasn't a problem, she said.
Hill finished with a grade point average above 4 and was a National Honor Society member her junior and senior years. She's headed to Northwest Arkansas Community College, then plans to transfer to the University of Arkansas with an eye on becoming a radiologic technologist.
Jake Hardin, principal of Greenland High, said Hill took full advantage of the small-school experience by participating in athletics and numerous extracurricular activities as well as taking her studies seriously.
"Campbell is a highly motivated student, a natural leader and shows a maturity well above her years," Hardin said.
ABIGAIL HOWARD
Providence Academy, Rogers
Abigail Howard went to bed Jan. 19 feeling fine. She woke up the next morning with excruciating back pain -- "the worst pain I've ever felt," she said.
Her legs became weak within an hour, and before long, she couldn't move them at all. She went to the emergency room that day and was in the intensive care unit for 10 days.
Doctors did numerous tests, even exploratory surgery. They discovered a slight herniated disk in her spinal column, which they believed broke off and caused a stroke in her spinal cord, Howard said.
Life had been going well for Howard until that January morning. She was voted homecoming queen. She received a scholarship to play soccer at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia. The stroke left her wondering when she would walk again.
She was admitted to the Craig Hospital, a rehabilitation facility just outside Denver specializing in spinal cord and brain injuries.
Howard spent nearly two months in an intense physical therapy program -- eight hours per day, every day. Frustration set in at times, but her therapists remained upbeat and energetic, she said. By the first week of March, she was jogging on a treadmill.
The 19-year-old envisioned returning home to Lowell to celebrate her recovery with friends. By the time she got home March 21, however, the coronavirus pandemic had hit. Such a celebration would have to wait.
Howard never experienced anything like the stroke. It reshaped how she looks at life and sharpened her sense of gratitude, she said.
"I got to the point where I was complacent and took for granted everyday things, like being able to feed myself, because there was a point where I couldn't do that," she said. "I can't really relate anything in my life to be as hard, yet rewarding, as my spinal cord stroke."
Soccer is off the table for this fall. She's not allowed to participate in sports for a year after her stroke. She continues to see a physical therapist twice a week. She works at recovering her soccer skills.
Howard finished most of her classwork while in Colorado and is graduating on time with her class, she said.
She hadn't thought of pursuing a career in health care before her stroke. Now, she intends to major in kinesiology and become a physical therapist who specializes in spinal cord injuries.
Jason Ross, Providence Academy's chancellor, said Howard's "positive, approachable and steadfast spirit" earned her high esteem among her teachers and peers.
"Abigail has inspired our school and many others. We are so proud of her," he said.
REID PETRIE
Farmington High School
Reid Petrie said his experience as a Farmington High School student was different than he anticipated.
"I kind of always pictured me just being another kid that didn't really need to stand out or anything," he said.
Petrie, 18, was born and raised in Farmington. He said he unintentionally became well-known in high school after becoming involved with the school's broadcasting program as a sophomore.
"It was kind of scary, but I got over it," he said, adding he took on a new weather segment in his junior year. "I volunteered to be the meteorologist, and I've been doing that every Friday for about two years now."
Donna Norsworthy, his high school counselor, said the teen emerged as a "quiet leader" for his peers through the experience.
"It's just kind of an innate quality that he has," Norsworthy said. "His classmates have a high regard for him and high respect."
Petrie has also represented the school on its Academic Competition in Education team, served on student government and worked as an aid in the office. The teen made an impact no matter where he served, Norsworthy said.
"He is able to conceptualize whatever it is you're trying to have him do and truly understand it and make it his own and then be able to create something even better out of it," she said.
Petrie has led while overcoming personal challenges unknown to many of his classmates and teachers, she said.
"My chest has always been caved in in the middle," Petrie said, explaining he was born with a disorder called pectus excavatum. The disorder causes ribs and the breastbone to grow inward.
The teen had a metal rod inserted in his chest about four years ago when the disorder began to restrict his breathing. The rod was removed during a second surgery last summer, and his chest is now growing as it should, Petrie said.
He sees the disorder as just another part of his story and had no intention of letting it lessen his high school experience.
He plans to attend the University of Arkansas to study accounting and can see himself taking on leadership roles in his career.
"I have discovered that I do kind of like the management aspect -- being in charge, helping people accomplish goals," Petrie said.
Norsworthy said she has little doubt Petrie's natural talents will serve him well.
"He's a student that will be highly successful in college because of his ability to be a self-starter and his ability to not wait until he's asked to do something," she said. "Whatever he does, he takes it to another level."
SOPHIA PUTNAMMULLEN
Haas Hall Springdale
Sophia Putnammullen said she likes a challenge.
Putnammullen, 17, is a member of Haas Hall at The Jones Center's first graduating class. She was motivated as a student leader as soon as she started at the school three years ago and never let any difficulty prevent her success, said Jamie Bendure, school headmaster.
"From the very beginning, that stood out to me," Bendure said.
Putnammullen said she was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was 3 years old.
"I remember being constantly at the hospital and being under sedation," she said. "I remember more from my follow-up appointments for 12 years. There was a constant feeling of being supported by people I didn't even know."
The teen has been cancer free for about 14 years, she said, but the experience affected her worldview.
"It has shaped me to understand that life is extremely short," she said. "Living to the fullest and creating a life you love is the only way to live. Being on Earth is a privilege, so it's time to make the best of it."
Putnammullen has gone above and beyond at Haas Hall and served as a role model for her peers, Bendure said.
"I took leadership as fast as I could," Putnammullen said, explaining she served on the school's student government and helped tutor other students weekly.
The investment in other students may have helped contribute to their success, but she had personal motivations for helping classmates excel.
"I like to know that I'm being challenged where I'm at, so I don't get bored," said Putnammullen, who explained tutoring helped create better scholars with whom to compete. "That is kind of an interesting way to go about it, I guess, but really helpful," she said.
Forming healthy challenges for herself has paid off. She said she received 12 college acceptance letters. She decided to attend the University of Arkansas to stay close to home during the covid-19 pandemic and will major in social work with a pre-law track.
Putnammullen said she hopes to address injustices faced by marginalized communities as an attorney.
"I want to be able to bridge that gap and create an equal society for everybody," she said.
Bendure said she is sure Putnammullen will rise to the challenge.
"She's a pretty special young lady," Bendure said. "I just have no doubt that wherever she goes and whatever she's decided do, she's going to accomplish it."
CHLOE ROBINSON
Gateway, Bentonville School District
Chloe Robinson's high school career took an unexpected turn that led her to change schools twice in the past year.
She attended Bentonville West for the first three years of high school. A traumatic incident in May 2019 involving her and another student compelled Robinson to transfer to Gravette High School starting in August.
That didn't go well, however. Robinson struggled socially. She was so miserable, she decided just a few weeks into her senior year to drop out and pursue a General Educational Development diploma instead, she said.
That's when a friend of her mother's suggested she try Gateway, Bentonville's alternative learning environment for high school students. It turned out to be exactly what she needed.
"I have never seen teachers so nice," Robinson said of Gateway. "They get to know us. They ask how our days are. They get to know what our home lives are like."
The school "saved my high school education," she said.
Gateway, located in a section of Bentonville High School, offers a small-school environment for about 160 students.
Robinson needed only a few months to finish her requirements for graduation. With her spring semester free, she worked full time as a teacher at Bright Harbor School, a preschool in Bentonville. She works with babies and toddlers, helping them to learn letters, numbers and shapes.
Robinson's biological parents divorced when she was 5, and she spent about a year in therapy. She also spent time in therapy last year. That experience led to her strong interest in psychology, which she intends to study when she enrolls this fall at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.
Robinson, who turned 18 this month, was a kindergartner when her mother started attending Arkansas Tech. She has great memories of time spent on the university campus. More recent visits confirmed it was the only place she wanted to go.
"I didn't apply anywhere else. I love the atmosphere. I love the people," Robinson said.
Her advice to students: They can get a General Educational Development diploma if they don't like school.
"But it's so much easier to stay in school and get it done," she said.
NW News on 05/24/2020
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