“Be true to your school …” and more than 50 members of the James Hart School Class of 2014, awaiting their graduation from Homewood-Flossmoor High School on June 3, returned to Hart for a celebratory visit on Friday, May 25.
“I remember dancing. We had a conga line in the lunch room,” said Opeymi Fatuki, who will be attending Illinois State University in the fall.
Amanda Fieramosca remembered running a mile in gym class, and her sister Alexandra recalled the class painting the walls in the hallway.
“Overall, it was a fun time, and the teachers really cared. Education was the most important thing to them,” said Dorian Bogard.
After visiting with teachers, the students assembled at the front of the cafeteria and gave their names and shared their plans for the future in microbiology, nursing, criminal justice, engineering, particle physics, medicine, journalism, neuropsychology, anthropology and many other fields.
Most students will be going out of state for college, traveling to British Columbia in Canada, Oregon State, Colorado State, the University of North Carolina and the University of Tampa in Florida. A few are joining the military.
Teachers say the afternoon reception is special for them.
“It just melts me heart just to see what they’ve become and where they’re going,” said science teacher Jill Vagner. “It means the world to me that they take time to come back. It’s so good to see them all grown up.”