CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – With local high school graduations starting this week, many families are getting excited about the big day and what lies ahead for each graduate. But not every student has someone to share their excitement.
Arlinda Baxter, secondary student intervention specialist with West Creek and Northwest High Schools, decided to do something to help them.
“I organized this graduation with the help of several donors throughout Clarksville. My vision is to celebrate those students who have worked hard over the past 12 years for this monumental occasion, but for whatever reason do not have someone to celebrate them like their peers would. This is to show the graduates that they are loved and worth being celebrated,” Baxter said.
Baxter reached out to local businesses and organizations who donated food and gifts. “My dream is coming true for these students,” Baxter said.
The celebration will be held right after Northwest’s graduation on May 26 and West Creek’s graduation May 28. Staff members from both schools have been invited to the event, which will be held in the Kimbrough Building at Austin Peay State University.
Baxter said in the future she hopes to expand the graduation celebration to other schools in the district.
“I would like to see it grow and occur every year at every school and become a tradition at CMCSS,” Baxter said.