CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A special class is leaving Herbert Hoover High School this year.
The first of many graduation ceremonies in Kanawha County began Thursday evening with students who didn’t experience a normal seven years of classes.
The 2023 class of 170 students took center stage at the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Charleston to receive their diplomas from Principal Mike Kelley.
Assistant Principal Jason Cantrell began the ceremony with a few words about the class of 2023, a class that for many years endured a different kind of environment but still made the most of it and even performed well beyond expectations.
“Whether on the stage, in the classroom, or on the athletic fields, they have proven to be as successful as any graduation class that has come before them,” Cantrell said.
It looked as if anyone in the auditorium would agree with that statement as family members, friends and members of the community filled Municipal to the max, and shouted loudly for their student.
“It is so much more than just a building, it’s the lifeblood of a community,” Cantrell said about Herbert Hoover High.
The school was devastated by a flood in June of 2016. Since then, the students were learning in “pods” or portable buildings that were set up nearby the old high school site.
Principal Kelley said they’re still on track to be in their school building for the 2023-2024 school year. One would think that after a disaster like a flood that the school would struggle and perhaps see a declining enrollment, but Kelley said it was actually quite the opposite.
“We actually gained student population over the last seven years so our community and our families have stuck with us,” said Kelley.
Leadership across the board was a huge factor into the success that the school and this years senior class saw since the flood.
“We have great student leadership and great community support,” Kelley said. “That becomes contagious.”
A few of those students that contributed to the success were Sawyer Osbourn and Max Bowen. Both men were state champions in golf in 2021. They said sports and extracurriculars in general were also a huge reason into them getting through their high school careers under much different circumstances than what a normal high school may look like.
“The sports kept everybody together, and we actually brought the first golf state championship to Hoover,” Max Bowen said.
It wasn’t just golf however. Herbert Hoover saw great seasons from their football teams with an undefeated season and a state runner-up finish last year. The girls softball team has won three state championships in the past five years, including winning one in 2022.
On the other side of being a student athlete, Osbourn said the tight-knit community that is Herbert Hoover always stayed strong.
“It’s been different but it still feels like a high school to us, even though we weren’t in an actual building,” Osbourn said.
His buddy Max couldn’t agree more.
“We would’ve came out exactly the same if we would’ve had a high school,” Bowen said.
Speaking of the future home of the Huskies, Principal Kelley said they are still on track to move into the new building for the 2023-2024 school year.
“We’re confident we’ll be in by the next school year,” said Kelley.