Hillcrest Academy’s first graduating class of Ravens was honored Sunday during their socially distant graduation ceremony. Eighteen seniors received their diplomas. This year’s ceremony saw the seniors and a limited number of family members attending in order to comply with public health guidelines on COVID-19. Jesse Slater was named valedictorian and Mia Graber was salutatorian.

Principal Dwight Gingerich felt the ceremony was a success, “It felt really good to have everybody in the room together. It’s the first time we’ve been in there together for a long time, for months. Obviously a little different with having less people, trying to keep in mind the social distancing, trying to follow the guidelines we were given by Johnson County Public Health, to the tee really. Given everything, I thought it went really well. The folks responded well to the guidelines. It seemed like people appreciated the opportunity to be in person. And that was really our goal was to provide that.”

Hillcrest Academy also honored the life and legacy of Teresa Cardenas, who passed away in December of 2017 after falling off a ladder at the school. The school honored Cardenas with flowers, a lit candle, and an empty chair. Gingerich says the family of Cardenas was at the ceremony to celebrate graduation with her classmates.