Macie McDaniel was named the valedictorian of Oglethorpe County High School's graduating class Tuesday at Senior Honors Night held in the school’s cafeteria.
McDaniel, who has a perfect 4.0 GPA, will attend the University of Georgia in the fall. She plans to major in criminal justice and eventually go to law school.
“It’s so rewarding,” McDaniel said. “Freshman year, I wrote in one of my first assignments that my goal at the end of high school was to be valedictorian, and it’s so gratifying to see the end result.”
During her senior year, McDaniel, who also is the school’s STAR student, served as the president of OCHS’ National Honor Society and Student Council. She also was a captain of the cheerleading squad and a three-year manager for the wrestling team.
“She’s definitely grown (at OCHS), but she came in already really mature and devoted to her studies, the school and her community,” Principal Bill Sampson said. “She’s been that way for four years.”
McDaniel also claimed awards as the Most Outstanding Science Senior and the Most Outstanding Social Studies Senior.
Allyson Kelley-Morris is the salutatorian of the class. She also plans to attend Georgia in the fall, with an intended major of exercise and sports science.
Kelley-Morris also earned a perfect 4.0 GPA during her four years at OCHS. She was awarded Most Outstanding Language Arts Senior.
“It feels amazing,” Kelley-Morris said. “I am so happy, and honestly, I can’t say it's just me. I have friends and family that played a role in this, too.”
Nathan Wilson, a future Georgia Tech student, was named honorarian.
An “incredibly happy” Wilson said he’ll major in computer engineering, with ambitions to start his own video game development company.
Wilson excelled in mathematics at OCHS, earning the award for Most Outstanding Math Senior.
A total of 12 scholarship awards were handed out to 15 recipients at the ceremony.
OCHS band director Lee Jones was named Teacher of the Year by the Oglethorpe County Retired Educators Association.
Sampson said roughly one-third of the class of 2024 will exit OCHS with an overall average of 90 or higher in both academic and non-academic classes.
“I was here as the assistant principal for nine years, so it’s awesome to now be the principal and see my first class graduate,” Sampson said. “They’re an amazing group of students and we’re going to miss them.”