As Rae Monroe waited for her nephew, Deon Webb, to receive his diploma from Hickman High School, she said his resilience helped him get there.
Monroe said she had lost her brother Arnel Monroe about four years ago. He was a football coach at Hickman and was very close with Webb.
Graduate Hunter Hancock adjusts his sunglasses after receiving his diploma during Hickman High School’s graduation ceremony on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The ceremony’s speakers acknowledged Hickman’s values of tradition, integrity, diversity and excellence.
Rahmat Adekunle delivers the senior speech to her fellow graduates during the Hickman High School graduation ceremony on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. In her speech, Adekunle thanked her peers for electing her as class president. “It has been nothing short of a pleasure and a true honor to serve as this school’s first Muslim, Black, female president,” she said.
Seniors from Hickman High School walk to their seats before the commencement ceremony on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. Before students received their diplomas, Principal Mary Grupe asked the audience to participate in a moment of silence for Lushen Claridge and Ethan Putt, two Hickman seniors who died in the past year.
Students stand before the Hickman High School graduation ceremony begins on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The commencement began with a long-held tradition of a faculty member carrying a ceremonial academic mace, a symbol of authority that grants schools the ability to award degrees.
Jude Donoho-Lowry rests his head on Liam Donohue’s shoulder during the Hickman High School graduation ceremony on Friday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. This ceremony introduced the school’s 127th graduating class with 422 students. “Tonight’s graduation is a celebration of achievement, progress and grit,” principal Mary Grupe said during her welcome speech.
