Bulloch Academy: William Downs

Some people would dislike spending 12 years with the same 38 people, but William Downs, Bulloch Academy's 2015 valedictorian, came to enjoy it.

"I loved BA," he said. "Some people say it's too small, but I kind of got used to it. It's nice when you know everybody and everything about the school."

Attending high school at the small private school provided the 18-year-old with some opportunities that he thinks he may not have had elsewhere.

"I got to play soccer every year ... and I was on the Math Team," he said. "You got to do a bunch of different things that you might not be able to do at other places. I really enjoyed that."

But after graduating with many of the same 38 people that he's been in school with since prekindergarten, the youngest son of Vann and Betty Downs will join more than 36,000 other students at the University of Georgia in the fall.

William is a lifelong Bulldogs fan and has always wanted to attend UGA. He is most excited about meeting new people in college.

"Georgia is going to be a whole different field, coming from a school as small as BA. So meeting new people will be nice, honestly," he said.

The Zell Miller Scholarship and HOPE Scholarship recipient is majoring in biology and plans to enter the pre-med program in the next few years. From there, he hopes to attend medical school to become a doctor.

"As I've gotten older, I've felt like that is what I wanted to do," he said. "I hope to figure out what kind of doctor I want to be in the next couple of years. But as of right now, I have no idea."

The student voted most likely to succeed by his classmates talked about future success in his graduation speech.

"I think we're a pretty creative class, so I think we'll be pretty successful in life," he said.

As for the underclassmen, Downs' advice is to study and work hard to achieve their goals.

"But also enjoy it," he said. "High school is fun, and it goes by really quickly."

Portal High: Justin Motes

Justin "JD" Motes, Portal Middle High School's valedictorian, is the 18-year-old son of Earl and Karen Motes of Portal. His ascent to the top of his graduating class began in ninth grade, when he achieved the fourth-highest GPA. Since then, it's been a steady climb. In 10th grade he was third highest, 11th grade brought second highest, and this spring he learned he was valedictorian.

"JD is an awesome student," said PMHS Principal Karen Doty. "He was dual enrolled at Georgia Southern his junior and senior years, in addition to his coursework at Portal. We look forward to watching him continue to be a positive force in the world."

He already has completed 46 college credits, making him a college sophomore.

"Time at Georgia Southern really pushed me forward as a student," he said.

However, the remainder of his college career will not be spent there. Instead, Motes has been accepted to St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, in the Dioceses of Saint Augustine, and plans to enter the priesthood. The Diocese covers the majority of his college tuition, but local scholarships, like one for $1,000 from the Rotary Club, will also help him reach his goal.

A member of St. Matthew's Catholic Church, Motes said he came to faith when he was 14 and feels a strong calling to serve others. As a high school student, he has been very active in serving those with Alzheimer's disease through volunteer work with Silver Linings. He also ministers to homebound members of his church.

Father Douglas Clark of St. Matthew's is Motes' mentor. He has been teaching Motes Latin and Greek in preparation for his seminary studies.

"When I first came here, he took the initiative to come to me and ask for my help," Clark said. "We meet weekly, and he's also learning Spanish and Italian. He's an excellent student who loves learning. I've come to admire him."

While dual enrolled at Georgia Southern, Motes also took advantage of the university's study abroad program, through which he spent five weeks in Rome last year, where he took a writing course and refined his Latin and history skills. He also visited the Sistine Chapel and Vatican City and attended the Mass of Corpus Christi with Pope Francis.

"JD is a studious, goal-oriented person," said Lance Parrish, Motes' high school civics and world history teacher. "He doesn't care to merely memorize facts and dates; he asked questions and participated in class discussions."

Parrish was also Motes' Model United Nations advisor.

"I can attest to his growth as a great debater and his gifted ability to think on his feet," Parrish said. "He always requested to represent Holy See (the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome) as a delegate."

Motes received honors in 11th and 12th grade for his work in Model UN. He was also an active member of the Beta Club and a member of Portal's marching band in ninth and 10th grade. He plays piano, keyboard and wind instruments.

He and his classmates are a close-knit group of only 49 graduates, most of whom have been friends since prekindergarten, but Motes believes his time abroad and at Georgia Southern have prepared him to leave home and follow his dreams.

Southeast Bulloch High: Sara McCracken

Sara McCracken, the 18-year-old daughter of Mark and Julie McCracken, is Southeast Bulloch High School's valedictorian and STAR student this year.

"I really worked hard," she said. "The end of my junior year, I realized I had the highest GPA, so I worked really hard to try and get valedictorian, and I studied a lot for the SAT in the summer."

Her mother agrees that McCracken is a very hard-working, determined young lady.

"We could not be prouder of her, but we are most proud of her kind heart and how she treats people," Julie McCracken said. "Looking at her yearbook and reading what her peers have written to her about her kindness means so much to us."

One of those peers is Sara McCracken's childhood friend and next-door neighbor, Lainey Forbes, SEBHS salutatorian. Friends since the fifth grade, they have shared a great deal, so it was only fitting that they share the graduation podium, too. Though heading to different schools in the fall - McCracken to the University of Georgia and Forbes to Georgia Southern University - these two have never allowed distance to be an obstacle.

"Growing up, we used an old swimming pool ladder to climb over the white picket fence between our houses so we could play," McCracken said.

The ladder is still there, and both young ladies have fond memories of its uses through the years.

"We had Nerf wars with her brother, Drew, and his friends, and the ladder was the area of imminent death. You couldn't get over it without getting shot!" Forbes said. "The McCrackens also have chickens, and they always let us have plenty of eggs, but carrying two or three in each hand while going over that old pool ladder is difficult."

According to Forbes, the two friends have had many play dates over the years, dressing up in pieces of fabric, building small forts out of sticks and pine straw and creating stories about princesses and surviving in the wild. Now, they look forward to talking about their new adventures during visits home from college.

"I'm very proud of Sara for all she's accomplished, and I'm even more proud that I can say we grew up best friends," Forbes said.

McCracken has been accepted into UGA's honors program and is the recipient of the university's Charter Scholarship and the Zell Miller Scholarship. She enjoys literature and plans to major in English as a path to a possible career in education, teaching or administration.

She also is interested in studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. With three Spanish classes already under her belt, she feels the experience would help with her fluency.

McCracken has been a dual-enrolled student at Georgia Southern this year, but she loves Athens.

"It's an artsy, laid-back campus," she said.

She describes her family as very "outdoorsy," so she loves to hike, ride bikes and backpack.

"I'm looking forward to biking around the Athens area."

McCracken is also an accomplished flutist and was first chair in Southeast Bulloch's concert and honor bands.

"Sara is that rare gem of a student that only comes around a few times in your career," said SEBHS band director Matt Olsen. "She is great at anything she puts her mind to and has a wonderfully positive attitude about it at the same time. She has been an incredible musician for us."

In reflecting about graduation and the traditional speech that she and other valedictorians give to their fellow graduates, McCracken said, "SEB is a small school, so you become close to your friends and the people. It's been great, but I believe our best years are yet to come."

Statesboro High: Alexis Cribb

Alexis Cribb, Statesboro High School's valedictorian, is the 17-year-old daughter of Denise and Rickey Cribb of Statesboro. If you have the pleasure of meeting this great conversationalist, don't let her accent fool you. She was born and raised in Statesboro.

"My parents are from Wisconsin," she said with a laughs. "And I get my love of talking from my dad."

She credits her parents and the support they have given her for her success.

"My parents build me and my brother up and encourage us," she said. "My mom makes sure we have really great meals. They see my hard work and tell me how proud they are of me."

That example of encouragement has led Cribb to do the same for others. Through her membership in Statesboro High's National Honor Society, she was a volunteer mentor this year for a third-grade student at Julia P. Bryant Elementary School.

"We met two times a month during the school day at JPBES," Cribb said. "We'd eat lunch together and play card games. Her mother was ill, so one time I brought supplies for us to make her a card together."

It was through that experience that Cribb was able to witness the positive effects of listening, encouraging and spending time with someone.

"It was a privilege to mentor her," she said. "She did not know I was a valedictorian. I was just there for her."

Cribb's passion for helping others will serve her well, as she plans to work as a missionary in South America.

"My plan is to attend Ogeechee Technical College to pursue a diploma in echocardiography. It's a high-demand field and a skill I can use anywhere in the world," she said. "Once I graduate, I want to work part of the year and spend the other half of the year in the mission field."

While in high school, Cribb was been dual enrolled at Georgia Southern University and OTC. Her coursework at GS included Spanish, another skill she's mastering for mission work.

"My mother actually began working to make me bilingual when I was 4 years old," she said. "As a child, she would have Dr. Leticia McGrath, an assistant professor at Southern, come speak Spanish to me. Then when I was dual enrolled at Georgia Southern, Dr. McGrath was actually one of my first professors."

Another skill Cribb began learning at 4 years old is the violin. She's a member of the Averitt Center for the Arts' Statesboro Chamber Orchestra along with fellow classmate and Bulloch County STAR student Nick Harvey, an oboist.

"We did not have strings at Statesboro High, so this is an outlet for me to play," Cribb said. "I hope to do something further with music in the future."

One of Cribb's favorite teachers was Richard McCombs, Statesboro High's environmental science teacher.

"I loved his classes. Everything we did was hands-on," she said.

McCombs said that Cribb is a student who works hard to improve herself, both in the academic arena and in her growth as an individual.

"She consistently strives to learn as much as possible about new subjects with new material and develops this into opportunities to help those around her understand concepts with a much greater understanding," McCombs said. "From learning how to build a solar oven from scratch to designing a city to be ecologically friendly, Alexis has developed a caring nature of the environment."

"Alexis is a diligent worker who displays an intellectual curiosity and a commitment to excellence," added SHS language arts teacher Rebecca Smith.

Still, Cribb remains very humble as her senior class' valedictorian.

"There are so many kids that are deserving of this honor," she said. "We've all worked very hard this year."

Trinity Christian: Nicholas Gross

Nicholas Gross, valedictorian of the 2016 graduating class of Trinity Christian Academy, has exhibited leadership qualities through the years, both in school and in the community.

A starter on the basketball team since sixth grade, Gross also ran on the track and varsity cross-country team for two years. He was a member of the National Beta Club throughout high school and class president for the past two years. He was also a member of the school's group choir and competed in the Georgia Independent Christian Arts and Academics literary competition in both spelling and dramatic oral interpretation.

Not only has Gross volunteered with the Screven County soup kitchen for the past six years, but he also has helped with Keep Screven Beautiful by picking up trash along the highway. He has volunteered at Safe Haven and participated in food drives. He also served with youth by delivering supplies to the Georgia Baptist Children's Home and teaching physical education to first-graders at Trinity Christian in his junior year.

Headmaster David Lattner called Gross "outstanding in every way."

"He has excelled in every area academically, being both valedictorian and STAR student," Lattner said. "Most of all, he is a leader spiritually on our campus. He loves God and is quick to encourage others in their faith as well."

Gross has won numerous awards, including Gulfstream Engineering and Helen Davis scholarships, as well as honors in basketball as both a junior and senior.

In the midst of it all, he also managed to run his own lawn care business and read water meters for BHL Water and Macomber Concentrations during his summer breaks.

Gross is the only child of John and Lisa Gross of Sylvania and Newington, both of whom he addressed in his valedictorian speech.

"Thank you, Mama and Daddy, for always believing in me and being my heroes," Gross said. "I want to be like you when I grow up."

He will attend Georgia Southern in the fall, where he plans to major in mechanical engineering for a career as a project manager or designer.

"I want to be a Christian missionary wherever God leads me," Gross said. "I want to make a good living and have a family."

Charter Conservatory: Emma Weaver

The Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts and Technology has been home for valedictorian Emma Weaver since the sixth grade. After graduation, Weaver said she plans to attend Ogeechee Technical College to become a veterinary technician.

While in school, she was on Charter Conservatory's prom committee and was president of the Charter Conservatory Involvement Club, where she volunteered with the Alzheimer's Walk, animal shelter and nursing homes.

Charter Conservatory Director Corliss Reese said Weaver was a leader at the school.

"She has been a great student and excellent role model for our students," Reese said.

Weaver is the daughter of John and Wendy Weaver. She has two sisters, one who attends Georgia Southern University and one who attends Middle Georgia College in Milledgeville. She also has a younger brother, who attends Langston Chapel Middle School.

Stories by Hayley Greene, Chyna James and Shane Peaster