Attention! JHS holds graduation for soon-to-be military members

Five Jackson High School students were recognized in a ceremony Friday prior to the students' entering military service.

The ceremony featured a presentation of colors, commencement speech by West Point graduate and Jackson teacher William Lewis and reverse parade. Jackson High School graduations normally fill the Show Me Center, communications director Merideth Pobst said, but only graduates and immediate families were allowed to attend this graduation in the school's auditorium.

Members from the senior choir performed the national anthem and school's alma mater during the ceremony. A reverse parade immediately following the ceremony allowed extended family and friends to congratulate graduates.

Five of the six graduating military seniors were present at the ceremony. Erin Huff and Amber Lowes will be entering the Army. Jacob Farrar will be joining the Marine Corps. Caleb Anderson and Logan McClanahan will be joining the National Guard. Jackson graduate Wyatt Darlage will also be entering the Army but was not present at the ceremony.

Lowes will be leaving Monday for basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; she said it meant a lot to her that the school chose to recognize them in this way. Lowes said she enlisted partially because her friend, Huff, will be joining the Army as well.

Jackson High School graduates (from left) Amber Marie Lowes, Erin Taylor Huff, Jacob Charles Farrar, Caleb Scott Anderson and Logan Wayne McClanahan have pictures made following an in-person military graduation ceremony and parade Friday, May 22, 2020, at Jackson High School.Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com

"It really shows how much the school puts into students, that they're not just trying to push kids out but actually take care of the individuals," Huff said of the military students' graduation.

Principal Seth Harrel said he hopes to hold an in-person ceremony for Jackson High School's some 350 other graduates later this summer. However, because of basic training schedules, it wasn't possible for these five graduates to attend the later ceremony.

"As a culture, I think we really value ceremonies and rituals and signaling of moving on. I think that closure is really important," assistant principal Travis Wilson said. "As their Jackson family, as principals of their school, we believe in them and we're proud of them and we're supporting them in that next chapter."