BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School presented 21 seniors as this year’s Golden B recipients during an April 24 ceremony that also recognized 57 seniors (including those who received the Golden B) as Principal’s Achievement honorees.
Golden B awards, which are presented to 10 percent of the graduating class, are determined by a points system based on weighted GPA, number of referrals, daily attendance percentage, dual-enrollment courses completed, industry certifications achieved, number of extracurricular activities and number of years enrolled at BHS as well as a teacher ranking system based on respect, responsibility and productivity.
Students must be nominated by at least two faculty or staff members.
This year’s recipients were Carolyn Adams, Jessica Brown, Kelsey Burgin, Madison Casey, Kendall Cook, Jakyiah Dean, Anaria Early, Nivaiah Foster, Mauriye Hankerson, Desirae Jones, Carlton Kelliebrew, Hayden Kilby, August Lefevers, Carson McKenzie, Jeremiah McKenzie, Alissa Reddish, Dayton Roberts, Owen Roberts, Caleb Rodriguez, Zaevion Small and Matthew Stafford.
To earn Principal’s Achievement, students must have a minimum, weighted GPA of at least 3.5 and be on track to graduate and exemplify the five pillars at BHS: Present, Respectful, Responsible, Productive and Safe. Number of discipline referrals is also taken into account.
Besides the Golden B recipients, those who earned Principal’s Achievement were Daniel Banda, Drake Benejam, Skyla Buonacore, Lorali Cantu, Cayden Carter, Seth Clemons, Jake Degeus, Kaylee Devore, Leah Durbin, Jaleel Easley, Jacob Ferguson, Ella Hense, Katira Hinson, Mabel Karinen, Trace Kite, Jillian Lee, Allie McFarland, Jalisia McMillian, Jordan Norman, Alysia Rentz, Garrison Ritch, Journie Sampson, Blakeleigh Smith, Brayden Smyth, Cody Spratlin, Brooklyn Stephens, Chadsity Stevens, Summer Sutton, Saniya Thompson, Savanna Trollinger, Kaylah Vargas, Reese Wainwright, Daniece Westberry, Amber Wynn, Kallie Yowell and Keegan Yowell.
Bradford County Superintendent of Schools Will Hartley congratulated students on their honors and challenged them to continue striving to do their best.
“Just remember: They won’t be giving you extra credit in college for those (awards),” Hartley said. “Your boss won’t be giving you a Golden B bonus, but the attributes that brought you here today in receiving those awards are the things that will make you successful in life.
“Continue to be you. Do all the things that got you here today, and you will be extremely successful.”
Hartley also took the time to recognize parents, grandparents, guardians and anyone else who helped support the day’s honorees.
“The thing we see so often in education is our students who are successful have people behind them who really hold them accountable, who are there for them when they need them and who push them to be their best,” Hartley said.
Bradford County Education Foundation President Cheryl Canova offered some advice to the students, saying, “Find something you love to do and are passionate about and figure out a way to make a living doing it. This will bring you true happiness. I promise.”
The Bradford County Education Foundation, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that supports the county’s schools, sponsors the annual Golden B/Principal’s Achievement ceremony and reception.
Find your purpose to experience success
D’on Jeffers, a 2010 BHS graduate and Golden B recipient, shared her life story as the event’s featured speaker. She began by directing the students and everyone else in attendance to refer to the back of the programs they received, upon which the following was printed: Blessed is the person, indeed, who in this life can find a purpose that can fill their days and goals to fill their mind; this is your day — a world to win, great purpose to achieve; accept the challenge of your goals, and in yourself believe
Jeffers, who then proclaimed that Jesus Chris is first in her life, receiving a round of applause in the process, shared the Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11 (New Living Translation): For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
“I can stand here confidently this morning and tell you I am not who I am without Christ,” Jeffers said.
What Jeffers needed to do was find out who Christ wanted her to be. She said she saw herself being in a type of ministry, but admitted, “I didn’t know exactly how God wanted to use me. I struggled with the idea of going to college because I was like, ‘I don’t know if there’s any college that can provide me with the tools necessary for me to fulfill whatever it was that God was giving me.”
However, Jeffers said she knew she had do something, so she enrolled at Santa Fe College. She later transferred to Tallahassee Community College.
“I wanted to kind of spread my wings, do something different in a new city,” she said.
Jeffers said she found herself at a crossroads because, as she put it, “Life will life.”
In other words, life happens, and what happened in Jeffers’ life was a pregnancy that resulted in the birth of her son, Josiah. Jeffers admitted she was embarrassed at first about getting pregnant and stopped going to classes.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “I was stuck. I ended up coming back home so I could care for my infant.”
Jeffers knew she needed a job to care for her son and take care of life’s other responsibilities, so she went to work for Walmart. Eventually, she went to work as the receptionist at Bradford Middle School after her mother, who works in the school system, inquired if there were any openings.
The BMS job was one Jeffers held for seven years. During that time, she went back to school, taking classes at night, while her mother cared for Josiah, and earning her AA degree at Santa Fe.
“I was incredibly proud, and I was so done,” Jeffers said. “Again, God had other plans.”
Those plans were to continue going to school. Jeffers took advantage of a program offered through the North East Florida Educational Consortium to earn a bachelor’s degree online from the University of Florida — all while still working full-time and fulfilling the commitments of a mother.
“Please be advised that this was not an easy journey,” Jeffers said. “This was not easy, but I knew that the opportunity that afforded to me — I had to take it, and I had to change the trajectory of my life for my son.”
She earned her degree in Education and began teaching at BMS.
It was another step on the way to reaching God’s purpose in her life.
Jeffers took a job as an academic coach in Santa Fe College’s Upward Bound program. Also, she returned to school again, though she thought for sure she was done after earning her bachelor’s degree. She’s now taking classes for free through an opportunity for Santa Fe employees and is in the midst of working toward her master’s degree.
“Now, I know it sounds crazy to do all this as a single parent,” Jeffers said. “It absolutely is, but I assure you that it is nothing but the grace of God, and it is nothing but His purpose for my life.”
Jeffers told the assembled students that everything and everyone made by God has a purpose.
“You have to find what you are purposed for,” Jeffers said. “Everybody’s purpose is going to be different.”
Success, Jeffers said, will be defined by that purpose and not necessarily by accomplishments. She explained that accomplishments mean nothing if you’re not a good person.
“We have many people who have degrees…(but) they don’t have character,” she said. “They don’t have integrity. They step on people to get to the top. That’s not success.”
Jeffers encouraged students to “wake up every day and be a great person” and to “give back to the world.”
“Be a great person,” Jeffers said. “Be a person worthy of being followed. Set the example. Set the standard.”
