19 MBHS honor graduates selected

Mountain Brook High School is known to excel in academics, athletics and more, and at graduation time it wants to recognize the excellence of its students.

Graduation is fast approaching with many uncertain elements in play, but MBHS will recognize the hard work and academic achievements of the students that finished in the top five percent of the senior class by naming them Honor Graduates.

Honor Graduates are named as well as the usual valedictorian and salutatorian. Here are the 19 Mountain Brook Honor Graduates for 2020:

• Jessica Brouillette
• Virginia Cobbs
• Isabel Elkus
• Lewis Fischer
• Reid Freeman
• Reaves Gardner
• Ben Harris
• Ella Hartman
• Bebe Holloway
• Chloe Kinderman
• Mary Grace Lorino
• Johnny Nathan
• Lily Plowden
• Tate Record
• Pavel Shirley
• Vann Stewart
• Amy Taliaferro
• Virginia Webb
• Genevieve Wilson

Three students — Pavel Shirley, Ben Harris and Johnny Nathan — were voted on to represent the 2020 class and speak at the graduation ceremony slated for the end of the school year.

Even given the uncertainty of whether graduation ceremonies will happen due to the outbreak of COVID-19 across the country and state, the accomplishments of the 19 MBHS Honor Graduates will not go unnoticed.

Shirley said he is happy to be selected, but he knows that his whole class, including students who did not receive Honor Graduate status, worked extremely hard.

“It’s really just a validation of the work I’ve been doing for the last four years,” he said. “At the same time, though I was honored and proud to be selected, some of the significance is lost on me. I know our class of 2020 is full of amazing and incredibly intelligent people, and being an honor graduate is only one GPA-specific measure of that achievement.”

Nathan said being a Mountain Brook Honor Graduate was something he has been working toward since high school started.

“I was extremely honored to be named an honor graduate this year,” he said. “It has always been something that I’ve strived for during my time in high school, but I was never sure whether it would be possible given how competitive our class is and how many bright students we have. I was so fortunate to have such great teachers and peers who helped me all along the way during my time in Mountain Brook, and I truly believe that that tremendous support is the reason that I am where I am today.”

Shirley said it’s an honor to be able to speak at the 2020 commencement ceremony.

“It’s really a great honor to be chosen because we as students pick our speakers,” he said. “I’m just grateful that my peers had the confidence in picking me, and I appreciate the opportunity to try and give some closure to our high school experience.”

Nathan said this isn’t an ideal end to his senior year, but he doesn’t want it to distract his fellow seniors from the fact they are graduating.

“Obviously, when I imagined the final semester of my senior year, I did not picture being quarantined in my house for several weeks,” he said. “The COVID-19 outbreak has certainly placed a bit of a hiccup in our senior year, but just because our senior year is not ending exactly how we thought it would, that shouldn’t distract us from the fact that we are about to accomplish something amazing: we’re about to become high school graduates.”