Crossroads High School holds Winter Graduation

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Crossroads High School held its Winter Commencement Ceremony Friday evening at S.C. Lee Junior High in Copperas Cove, with 20 students walking to receive their diplomas. 

Connor Marshall was one of those to receive his diploma on Friday evening. He already has plan for what comes next – studying cybersecurity at Texas State Technical College. He was excited to be graduating in January instead of at the end of May.

“I knew what I wanted to do for my future, and coming to Crossroads is giving me time between semesters before starting in August,” he said. 

Marshall was at Crossroads for only two months, but during his time on the campus, he described the staff and teachers as very friendly, especially if he had questions about anything. Coach Michael Brown and Ms. Erin Kilpatrick – whom he referred to as “Ms. K” stood out to him.

Marshall is also graduating with six college credits under his belt, having already studied computer networking. 

Along with Marshall, Aaliyah Kennedy also received her diploma. She spent two years at Crossroads High School. Prior to enrolling at Crossroads, she said she was a year behind in her credits and had also dropped out at one point. On Friday evening, along with her cap and gown she wore a wide smile and sparkles in her hair.

“I chose Crossroads because there really wasn’t anywhere else I would rather choose. They have motivated me so much to reach my goals, and they gave me much hope when I thought I didn’t have any, to be a better worker,” she said. “I don’t think Crossroads is just a school. They were all a family, and I’m so honored that I got to experience it.” 

She said they worked with her and gave her the resources she needed. 

Now that she has graduated, she has plans to attend mortuary school and become a mortician.

“I feel like it’s different from other things I could do, and I feel like a lot of people don’t have the courage to do that, and I would love to do that,” Kennedy said.

She said that Ms. Tanner was her personal favorite staff member at Crossroads, for a number of the self-paced classes she was able to “knock out” prior to graduation. 

“I’m always thankful for her. She has my heart,” she said.

Principal Patrick Crawley commended the graduates on their accomplishment in achieving this milestone in their lives and overcoming the obstacles to get to this point. 

“I offer this advice: capture this moment in your memory, so you can look back and remember what it feels like to accomplish something and then motivate yourself for the future,” he told them.

“The blues guitarist B.B. King said, ‘The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.’ I absolutely agree with this statement, and I’d like to add this: there is very little that you can accomplish without the proper education. So, get all the education you can, but then do something. 

“Do something with your education. Don’t just stand here, make things happen. This your start, go from here, take what you learn, and make your world what you want it to be.” 

Crossroads High School offers a self-paced, non-traditional option for high school students, and students must apply and be approved for enrollment. There are currently 156 students enrolled at Crossroads, which has a capacity of 300 students. 

The Winter 2022-2023 graduates include:

Vanessa Alejos

Cody Bootz

Kaleigh Cartwright

Alex Castor

Jermaine Claybrooks

Bree Corley

Tyler Elmore

Adrian Fairley 

Jasmayreth Hart

Latrice Holifield

Alisha Johnson 

Aaliyah Kennedy

Mitchell Kimbel

Connor Marshall

Destiny Mastin 

Chase Miller 

Aiden Ortega

Sarah Rivera 

Aalyashia Robinson

Brooklyn Royer