BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Bradford High School announced 19 recipients of the Golden B Award during a ceremony in the school auditorium on April 28.
Golden B Awards, which are sponsored by the Bradford County Education Foundation, are presented annually to 10 percent of the graduating class.
“As a faculty, we want to recognize students who consistently set good examples for other students to follow,” Principal Angela Tomlinson said. “The students we nominate should be mature, responsible, respectful, friendly and disciplined young people who have consistently followed school rules without complaint or objection.
“Our teachers on campus, as well as those over at North Florida Technical College, are the ones who nominate these students.”
This year’s recipients are Cassie Acevedo, Ashley Brady, Kevin Carmichael, Gavin Cook, Jakyri Dean, Lane Griffis, Laney Griffis, Huishan He, Omari James, Peyton Johns, Hayden Knight, Lauryn Loper, Makayla Moore, Brooklynn Reddish, Christine Samons, Mario Small, Aleandria Wells, Kimberlyn Woods and Amanda Zink.
Tomlinson said the each letter of “Bradford” can be used to describe a Golden B value: B for the behavior that sets the example for others to follow; R for respectful of administration, faculty and staff; A for academic effort that is worthy of recognition; D for discipline, with maturity and good judgment; F for friendly and courteous to others; O for obey rules without objection; R for responsible, having a strong work ethic; and D for dignified, not desirous of self-recognition.
Students, Tomlinson explained, earn points toward receiving a Golden B from GPA, lack of referrals, daily attendance percentages, dual-enrollment courses, industry certifications, extracurricular activities, number of years at BHS and teachers’ ratings based on respect, responsibility and productivity.
The Bradford County Education Foundation sponsors the annual Golden B awards. BCEF President Cheryl Canova said the nonprofit, all-volunteer organization got its start in 1990 when a group of citizens saw a need to be more proactive about public involvement in the Bradford County School District.
“This year alone, we’ve provided over $80,000 of support for Bradford schools,” Canova said. “We currently have a couple of grants that are in the worlds, so by the end of this year, hopefully, it’ll be over $200,000 that we’ve donated to the schools.”
Canova, on behalf of BCEF, congratulated the assembled seniors and wished them luck in their future.
“As I always say to young adults, find something that you love to do and are passionate about and figure out how to make a living doing that,” Canova said. “That will truly bring you happiness in your lives.”
Those who received the Golden were part of a group of 48 seniors chosen as Principal’s Achievement recipients. To earn Principal’s Achievement, Tomlinson said a student must be on track to graduate, have a weighted GPA of at least 3.5, have no more than two Level-One referrals (dating back to the start of their junior year) and not exceed a certain number of absences their junior and senior years.
Besides those who received the Golden B, the Principal’s Achievement recipients were Kevin Acree, Tanner Aucoin, Takeirra Bakken, Kaiya Booker, Michael Byrd, Austin Corbin, Isaiah Davis, Serenity Dean, Autumn Dehoff, Dalycs Farr, Emma Franke, Emilee Gaskin, Terry Gibson, Ja’taiya Glover, Macie Hamilton, Brianna Jordan, Gideon Jordan, Brianna Justice, Hailey Kennedy-Degeus, Lillee King, Shariece Knowles, Mary-Jane LeBert, Layne Loper, Aaliyah McCloud, Shaynah Miller, Gabrielle Oliver, Milani Rodriguez, Troy Smith and Madilyn Wilsey.
Before the Principal’s Achievement and Golden B students were recognized, Superintendent of Schools Will Hartley encouraged them to not deviate from what they’ve already been doing.
“In order to be here today, you’ e made a commitment to be consistent, to do the right things, to do your work and to be responsible,” Hartley said. “Those are the qualities that will make you successful in life as you continue. Keep doing what you’ve done.”
If you never give up, success can happen
D’on Jeffers, a 2010 BHS graduate, was the event’s guest speaker, sharing how her efforts put her in the position she’s in now. Jeffers, who was a Golden B recipient herself, pursued a degree in Education, which she earned 11 years after graduating from high school. After becoming a teacher at Bradford Middle School in 2022, she now works as a Santa Fe College Achieve specialist.
“I am just now reaching, after 13 years out of high school, the level of success I was looking for. It takes dedication,” Jeffers said, adding, “No matter what happens in your life, you keep pushing, you keep striving and you keep seeking the help and the resources you need in order to become successful.”
Jeffers said when she was a student at BHS, she had no idea that her future was to have a career working with students. In fact, the road to that career took some time, with several detours along the way.
“I made up my mind that I wanted to leave home,” Jeffers said, which she did after attending Santa Fe College for a couple of semesters. She moved to Tallahassee and attended Tallahassee Community College, though it wasn’t there that she earned her AA degree. She discovered that her life’s purpose wasn’t to be away from Starke.
“I had a plan, but God had another plan,” Jeffers said.
She moved back to Starke and got a job at Walmart, now supporting a son (Josiah), who was born in 2014.
Jeffers said one day at her son’s daycare, she saw her former chorus teacher, Mallory McConnell, who was then the principal at Bradford Middle School. McConnell asked Jeffers if she’d be interested in applying for the school’s front-desk receptionist position.
“It was perfect because I had been struggling a little bit with Walmart’s schedule,” Jeffers said. “I was working 2 to 11, so that means I was not seeing my son when I was coming home.”
She now had a job that allowed her to be there more for her son, but that was only part of God’s plan for her life. She was encouraged to return to college and finish her requirements for her AA degree, which she did at Santa Fe. Jeffers then enrolled at UF to work toward a degree in Education.
“Working in the school district offered me the opportunity to see that I love children, that I love people and that there was no way I could work in a profession without working with students,” Jeffers said.
Jeffers, who was the first in her family to graduate from college, told the soon-to-be BHS graduates that success doesn’t happen by chance.
“Successful people are not always just smart people,” she said. “Successful people are people who choose not to quit. Whatever happens in life, don’t quit.”
